The number of people in Louisiana infected with and dying from the West Nile epidemic is dropping at a steady rate.
At this time last year, 220 people were infected and 10 had died from the virus. This year, West Nile has only infected 52 people from Louisiana, killing one.
Kristen Meyer, Department of Health and Hospitals public information officer, said the reason for the decline in humans contracting the virus is unknown.
Since West Nile is still new to scientists, research is constantly being performed on humans and animals to find patterns in the virus.
Alma Roy, an assistant professor at LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine and associate director of the school’s Louisiana Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, is looking into the possibility that alligators could be potential carriers of the West Nile epidemic.
“Because West Nile is so new, we don’t know exactly who is involved, whether it’s turtles, alligators or geckos,” Roy said.
Hundreds of captive alligators in Florida and Georgia died last year from the West Nile virus, Roy said.
Roy said the research is primarily being used to determine what role alligators play in the spreading of West Nile.
“Do they harbor the virus, are they infected by the virus to the point of death?,” Roy said. “Do mosquitoes feed on them and transmit the virus?”
Roy said the possibility of alligators harboring and transporting the West Nile virus could be a potential economic danger to the state’s alligator industry.
The Louisiana alligator industry, specializing in alligator skin and meat, brings in close to $54 million a year annually, according to a Christian Science Monitor article.
But Roy said, so far, the research has shown that no Louisiana alligators have tested positive for the West Nile virus.