Suspected West Nile virus cases increase

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A fifth St. Louis area resident has preliminarily tested positive for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, the state health department said Thursday.

The latest case involves a 39-year-old male. It comes one day after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported four other potential cases of the virus in the St. Louis area.

Earlier this week, Missouri health officials said a Massachusetts woman had contracted the West Nile virus after visiting St. Louis in late July.

"The advice we give to Missourians remains the same," Dr. Howard Pue of the state health department said Thursday. "People need to take measures to avoid mosquito bites, including the use of insect repellent during the early morning and early evening hours, and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds around their homes."

The virus first surfaced in the United States in New York in 1999 and is believed to have spread westward as mosquitoes bite infected birds, then bite horses or humans.

Symptoms of the West Nile virus are often similar to the flu. But in rare cases, the virus can cause encephalitis -- a swelling of the brain that can be fatal.

So far, the state has tested 101 people from around Missouri for the virus.

but just 65 tests have been completed.

Missouri also has confirmed 89 cases of birds killed by the West Nile virus in 28 counties and the city of St. Louis, and 29 cases of horses infected with the virus in 16 counties. Some of those horses also have died.

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On the Net

Missouri health department: www.dhss.state.mo.us/WestNileVirus