Seven States Report 74 West Nile Virus Cases in a Week

July 23, 2004

July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Seven states, including New

York, reported 74 West Nile virus cases last week,

according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

The number of new infections is 69 percent higher than

the previous total for all of 2004. Arizona has 125 of

the 182 West Nile cases reported this year. Screening

found 23 infected blood donors, 21 of whom lived in

Arizona, according to the CDC's donor- tracking

network.

Twelve states, including New York and Florida, have

reported West Nile infections in 2004, with four

deaths. Infections may cause fever, headaches, and

rashes in about 20 percent of infected people and lead

to paralysis or brain infections in a small percentage

of them.

Arizona reported only 13 cases in 2003. Doctors and

health officials are looking for ways to prevent

infections, which led to 9,862 confirmed U.S. cases

that year. The disease killed 246 people in the U.S.

During the week of July 14, health officials reported

cases in Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico,

Florida, New York and South Dakota.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story:

Kristin Reed

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