West Nile cases down; chlamydia, others up in Iowa

Numbers of West Nile virus cases have declined, but chlamydia, Lyme disease and HIV cases climbed in 2009, according to an annual report from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The department was challenged last year by the first pandemic flu in the country since the 1950s, noted Medical Director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk.

Quinlisk said surveillance by the department and its partners helped determine how to respond to the H1N1 pandemic, which first hit in early May 2009, followed by a more prolonged and widespread second wave in October and November.

The annual report provides a yearly snapshot of what, how and when events impact the public's health.

More than 53,000 reports of infectious disease were submitted in 2009 to the department's disease surveillance programs. The department also investigates conditions related to lead, occupational and environmental hazards like carbon monoxide.

County-by-county breakdowns are available of common diseases reported to the state.

Public health officials in Linn County have been concerned about an uptick in chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease.

Linn County recorded 763 chlamydia cases last year, but others also are reporting increases.

Iowa's 9,406 chlamydia reports represents a continual rise over the past 30 years.

Polk County, Iowa's most populous county, recorded the most with 1,632, followed by Scott County with 1,057, Black Hawk County with 958 and then Linn County. In Johnson County,  563 chlamydia cases were reported.

Iowa's 127 diagnosed HIV cases in 2009 represents a 19 percent increase over the previous year.

The department noted that a disproportionate number of black men who have sex with men are being diagnosed with HIV.

For the third consecutive year, Iowa has had more than 100 cases of Lyme disease reported, with  108 cases of the tick-borne disease tallied last year.

On the other hand, cases of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus dipped to just 5 last year.

West Nile numbers have declined since peaking at 147 cases in 2003.

For the full report, see:

www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/default.asp and click on “Reports.”