West Nile Virus Death Toll Reaches 94 in US

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 25, 2002

West Nile Virus Death Toll Reaches 94 in US

The West Nile virus has caused94 deaths in the United States this year, and nearly 2,000 people have been diagnosed with it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.

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The West Nile virus has caused94 deaths in the United States this year, and nearly 2,000 people have been diagnosed with it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.

CDC said that 1,963 people have been diagnosed with West Nile virus in the Untied States. Illinois has had the most deaths, with25. Louisiana and Michigan have had 11 each.

Health officials said they suspect tens of thousands of people nationwide have contracted the virus, but most cases are never diagnosed. Most people experience few or no symptoms.

About one in 150 people who get West Nile develops encephalitis or meningitis. Those cases generally involve older people and those with weakened immune systems.

Health officials have determined the virus can also cause paralysis. Mosquitoes carry the virus, but the CDC has said it appears likely that some people contracted West Nile through organ transplants and blood transfusions.

West Nile virus first appeared in the United States in 1999 but caused an epidemic this year.

Scientists said small studies of a possible vaccine against West Nile virus could begin within months and a vaccine for the people most at risk of dying from the virus could be available in three years.

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