- NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) -
Three Louisiana men have been infected with West Nile virus in the nation's
first known confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne illness this year, a
state health official said on Friday.
-
- One of the men was in "very, very serious condition,"
but the other two were in better shape, said state epidemiologist Raoult
Ratard.
-
- He said there were other suspected cases in Louisiana
that had not yet been confirmed. No other cases have been confirmed in
the United States this year, Ratard said.
-
- The virus, which can cause deadly brain inflammation
in humans and animals, has killed 18 people along the East Coast since
it was first detected in the United States in 1999 in New York.
-
- A recent report by the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said the disease, detected in 27 states last year, was expected
to spread throughout the Americas.
-
- West Nile, which humans contract through the bite of
an infected mosquito, has been common in Africa and Asia for decades, but
unknown in the Americas until the 1999 outbreak.
-
- The three Louisiana victims, who ranged in age from 53
to 78 and lived in the southeastern part of the state, had spent a lot
of time outdoors, where they were exposed to mosquito bites, Ratard said.
-
- He said the state was urging local governments to step
up mosquito control programs and warning the public to avoid contact with
mosquitoes.
-
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