West Nile Virus Found in Bronx; 2 May Be Infected
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West Nile virus has been positively identified in three separate groups of mosquitoes in the Bronx, and two Manhattan residents may have already contracted West Nile fever, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced yesterday.
In Eastchester, Woodlawn, and Baychester, mosquitoes tested positive for the virus. In response to these findings, the department said in a statement that it will increase its surveillance of mosquitoes and intensify attempts to kill mosquito larvae in areas of standing water before they mature into adults.
Two men who live in Manhattan, ages 50 and 54, have been preliminarily diagnosed with West Nile fever. Though they exhibited the flu-like symptoms of the disease, such as headache, fever, and chills, neither patient has been hospitalized, according to the statement. Since both patients recently traveled outside New York, it remained unclear yesterday where they contracted the virus.
The virus first appeared in New York City in 1999, when it infected 37 people, killing seven. That outbreak marked the first time the virus was seen in Western Hemisphere. It was probably imported from an infected bird or mosquito from overseas. Health Department statistics show that in 2003 in New York City, 31 people became ill and only one was not hospitalized. In 2004 there were five reported cases of West Nile fever, and two of the patients required hospitalization.
Since 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of a total of 706 cases, according to a spokeswoman for the federal agency, Jennifer Morcone. As of Tuesday there were 61 reported cases and two fatalities across the United States this year. Though no new pesticide sprayings are planned at this time in New York City, two previously scheduled sprayings in Queens and two in Staten Island were completed as of this morning, according to the department.
Most people who are bitten by an infected mosquito develop mild symptoms, but children under 18 and adults over 50 are more likely to suffer from neurological diseases such as encephalitis, or from meningitis or paralysis.
