Death toll in West Nile virus outbreak in Louisiana climbs to 7

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- The death toll from the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in U.S. history climbed to seven Friday as state health officials said two more victims had died in parishes north of New Orleans.

The latest victims were identified as a 76-year-old woman in St. Tammany Parish and a 94-year-old woman in Tangipahoa Parish. Both parishes are across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans and are where many earlier cases occurred.

Health officials said another 14 human cases have been confirmed, raising the state's total to 85.

The outbreak in Louisiana is the deadliest since the virus killed seven people and hospitalized 55 others in the New York area in 1999, when the disease was first detected in this country.

All West Nile deaths this year have been in Louisiana, but Mississippi officials were awaiting test results to confirm whether a death there was due to the virus.

On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been at least 112 human cases of the mosquito-borne virus this year -- more than half of them in the past week. The report was issued before cases were reported in Washington, D.C., and Alabama.

Mississippi has reported more than 30 human cases of the disease, and there have been cases in Texas and Illinois. Animal cases have occurred elsewhere.

In South Dakota, officials said the virus had shown up in four pelicans that apparently died of something else. State epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger said it was the first time the disease has been found in the big birds in the United States.

The CDC has already given $17 million to states to fight against mosquitoes, but said an additional $10 million will be handed out. About $3.7 million will be earmarked for Louisiana and Mississippi.

Most people bitten by an infected mosquito will suffer no more than flu-like symptoms, but the weak and the elderly can get encephalitis, a potentially fatal brain inflammation.

State and local officials have boosted mosquito-spraying efforts and urged people to protect themselves by using bug repellent and wearing long sleeves.

Encephalitis is usually seen in August and September, but Louisiana's first patients became ill in June. The West Nile virus is showing up earlier in the summer as it spreads to warmer climates, according to the CDC.

Since its first appearance in the United States, the virus has been detected in 35 states and Washington, D.C.

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On the Net:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

Louisiana arbovirus database: http://arbonet.caeph.tulane.edu