West Nile Has Been Found In North Dakota Mosquitos

All our lives we've been warned about the West Nile virus. We've had a tinge of fear since childhood.

We were told that mosquitos carry this deadly disease, and with that, bug spray is a must.

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What Is West Nile?

West Nile was first discovered in 1937. It was given the name "West Nile" because it was discovered in the West Nile district of Uganda.

According to CDC.gov, West Nile is a fever, that can cause meningitis (inflammation of the brain) and encephalitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain), and yes, it is deadly.

North Dakota Has The Highest Incident Rates!

US News published a study in 2019, looking at incident rates in each individual state. They found that North Dakota is one of the worst states for a neuroinvasive disease that is directly linked to West Nile virus. Our incident rate is 7.89 per 100,000.

According to the source, midwestern states tend to have higher incident rates.

Cases In North Dakota This Year

How many reported cases have there been this year? According to the CDC there have been a total of 45 cases throughout the US in 2024.

25 of those cases lead to neuroinvasive issues.

Reported cases in North Dakota by year, according to hhs.nd.gov: 

2016 - 85

2017 - 62

2018 - 204

2019 - 9

2020 - 7

2021 - 30

2022 - 26

2023 - 58

2024 - 2

This year, (2024) in North Dakota, there's only been two cases reported in humans; one of them occurred in Morton County.

Will You Die From West Nile?

According to the CDC, 8 out of 10 people will not develop any symptoms from West Nile. People over the age of 60 are most at risk.

1 out of 150 who are infected will develop severe illness. Recovery from this may take several weeks or months, and some effects may be permanent.

Symptoms range from high fever and neck stiffness, to convulsions, vision loss, and paralysis.

If you or a family member suspect you have West Nile, report it to a healthcare provider immediately.