The U.S. is in the middle of one of the worst outbreaks of the West Nile virus in history — but it hasn’t reached Hawaii.
The state has had zero cases this year, according to Janice Okubo, spokesperson for the Hawaii State Department of Health.
In fact, the Aloha State has never seen a locally transmitted case of the virus.
Okubo said that visitors to Hawaii occasionally arrive already infected with West Nile, but their cases are recorded in their home states.
Nationally, more than 1,100 people have been infected and more than 40 people have died.
— Anita Hofschneider
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Tonrulkens.
GET IN-DEPTH
REPORTING ON HAWAII’S BIGGEST ISSUES
What it means to support Civil Beat.
Supporting Civil Beat means you’re investing in a newsroom that can devote months to investigate corruption. It means we can cover vulnerable, overlooked communities because those stories matter. And, it means we serve you. And only you.
Donate today and help sustain the kind of journalism Hawaiʻi cannot afford to lose.