(Baltimore)- The number of human West Nile virus cases is up big time in Maryland. The state has recorded 38 cases this year, nearly eight times as many as the five cases reported in 2017. Health officials are blaming the major uptick on all the rain we’ve had over the spring and summer. The last time Maryland saw a high number of human West Nile cases was 2015 when 46 contracted the virus during another extremely wet spring and summer.