15 West Nile cases confirmed in state

? Six additional cases of West Nile virus in humans have been confirmed in Kansas, bringing the total to 15 this year, state health officials said Wednesday.

The additional cases date from August and September and weren’t announced until now because it took time to verify the virus through testing.

All 15 victims have survived, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

KDHE said three of the cases were from Reno County and involved people age 67, 43 and 29. The other cases involved an 83-year-old person in Clay County; a 46-year-old in Harper County; and a 27-year-old in Ellis County. The agency did not release names or genders.

Previous cases included three people in Rice County; two in Johnson County; and one each in Pratt, Shawnee, Smith and Wyandotte counties.

KDHE said 793 horses and mules, 170 birds and 21 mosquito pools tested positive for the virus this year in the state.

The disease is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected bird and then bites another animal or person. It cannot be transmitted from one person to another.

Health officials say the cold weather has taken care of the problem and the virus isn’t expected to reappear in Kansas until next summer.