- NEW YORK (Reuters)
- An elderly man from Long Island is believed to be the latest U.S. victim
of the deadly West Nile virus and the first in the New York City area this
year, health officials said on Saturday.
-
- Two other New York-area residents have also contracted
the virus.
-
- Preliminary blood tests show an 81-year-old resident
of Melville, Long Island, east of New York City, died of the virus on Monday,
a spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Health Department said. Results from
another round of tests to confirm the results are due on Monday.
-
- A 77-year-old from Babylon, New York, who was admitted
to hospital on Aug. 16 is in a coma, while a 55-year-old man from East
Setauket who became ill with the virus on Aug. 8 has since fully recovered,
the spokeswoman said.
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- The death would bring the number of people in the United
States have died of West Nile disease to 17. Another 371 have become ill
from the virus, which is borne by mosquitoes, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
-
- At least 40 U.S. states have reported some West Nile
Virus activity this year, with 171 cases and eight deaths in Louisiana
alone.
-
- The CDC reported on Friday the first human cases of West
Nile this year in Nebraska and Virginia.
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