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Probable West Nile Deaths
In Missouri And Texas


8-20-2


ST. LOUIS (UPI) -- Missouri and Texas on Monday reported their first probable deaths from the West Nile virus, bringing to at least 13 the number of suspected fatalities nationwide.
 
Of the 11 confirmed cases, eight occurred in Louisiana, two in Mississippi and one in Illinois. Nationally, more than 250 people have contracted the disease.
 
St. Louis health officials said preliminary test results from a private lab indicate a 75-year-old woman had the disease when she died Aug. 7. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is running more tests to confirm the result. Five other people have contracted the disease in Missouri and are recovering.
 
A 52-year-old Houston woman hospitalized since Aug. 8 died on Friday and health officials said preliminary tests indicate she had West Nile. Specimens from that case also have been submitted to the CDC for confirmation. So far this summer, 25 virus cases have been reported in Texas.
 
West Nile is transmitted by the Culex mosquito and is believed to have spread as far west as Colorado since it was first detected in the United States in 1999 in New York. Less than 1 percent of those bitten by infected mosquitoes come down with a serious case of the disease.
 
 
 
Copyright © 2002 United Press International. All rights reserved.





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