Epidemiology & Geographic Distribution

In the United States, approximately 80-100 La Crosse encephalitis virus (LACV) neuroinvasive disease cases are reported each year. There is significant under-diagnosis and under-reporting of less severe cases of LACV disease, therefore reported LACV neuroinvasive disease cases are used to compare trends over time and place. To ensure standardization of reporting across the country, CDC recommends that the national surveillance case definition (standardized reporting criteria) be consistently applied by all state health departments.

LACV disease cases occur primarily from late spring through early fall, but in subtropical endemic areas (e.g., the Gulf states), rare cases can occur in winter. Historically, most cases of LACV neuroinvasive disease were reported from the upper Midwestern states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio). Recently, more cases have been reported from mid-Atlantic and southeastern states (West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee).

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*Neuroinvasive disease includes cases reported as encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, or meningitis. Most reported cases of California serogroup virus neuroinvasive disease are due to La Crosse encephalitis virus. Cases are reported by state of residence.

Downloadable version of above map [PDF - 1 page]

Data table: From 1964 through 2010, CALV neuroinvasive disease cases have been reported in Alabama (7), Arkansas (5), California (1), Colorado (1), Connecticut (2), Florida (4), Georgia (27), Illinois (241), Indiana (143), Iowa (134), Kentucky (23), Louisiana (25), Maryland (4), Michigan (31), Minnesota (367), Mississippi (14), Missouri (14), Montana (1), New Jersey (3), New York (58), North Carolina (237), Ohio (918), Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania (8), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (163), Texas (5), Virginia (28), West Virginia (602), and Wisconsin (586).

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Downloadable version of above map [PDF - 1 page]

Data table: This map shows the distribution of California serogroup virus neuroinvasive disease (encephalitis and/or meningitis) average annual incidence from 1996 through 2010. Counties are shaded according to incidences ranging from less than 0.1, 0.1 to 0.9, and greater than 1 per 100,000 population. Shaded counties are primary distributed in eastern half of the country. Most of the highest incidence counties are along the Appalachian range and the upper Mississippi river basin (in Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana)

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Additional Maps, Charts, and Tables

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