COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – State officials say the number of human cases of West Nile virus is down compared to last year. Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, state epidemiologist and medical director for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the state had 15 human cases of the mosquito-borne disease as of Oct. 31. There were a total of 44 human cases in the state in 2013.

Quinlisk says the drop is connected to the weather. Total rainfall numbers were below average in May and July and just above average in June, August and September.The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports of the cases this year, eight people were hospitalized. There were no reported deaths.