Seven new cases of West Nile virus found in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Seven more people in Illinois have contracted the West Nile virus, bringing the state's total to 16, the state's public health director said.

Among the newest victims was a 70-year-old southern Cook County man who is in critical condition battling West Nile encephalitis, public health director John Lumpkin said Tuesday.

Six of the seven people are from Cook County and one is from Springfield in Sangamon County.

The other new cases were a 2-year-old boy from Chicago who was hospitalized; a 44-year-old man from Chicago; a 59-year-old man from Cook County who was hospitalized; an 85-year-old woman from Cook County who was hospitalized; a 60-year-old woman from Cook County, released from the hospital Aug. 16; and a 41-year-old man from Springfield.