OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Health Department says only two people were reported with the West Nile virus in Washington this year, compared with nearly 40 in 2009.
The department says a Chelan County woman apparently was exposed to the disease while traveling in Colorado. She has recovered. A Grant County woman is the only person to acquire the disease in Washington. The department said Tuesday she is not currently in a hospital.
Deputy Health Secretary Gregg Grunenfelder says the virus is unpredictable and officials don’t know why the number of cases dropped.
In addition to the human cases, two dead birds from Grant County and nearly 130 mosquito samples from Grant, Yakima and Benton counties tested positive for the virus. No horses tested positive this season in Washington.
