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CNN Live Today

West Nile Virus Expanding Its Reach

Aired August 16, 2002 - 10:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Now the latest on the West Nile virus and its still expanding reach. Nine states and the District of Columbia have confirmed human cases of the potentially fatal disease. Nationwide the total stands at 160, and federal health officials say it will likely soar to 1,000 before summer is over. Not surprisingly, the concerns are rising along with the numbers.
We get a glimpse from reporter Lauren Cohn (ph) of CNN Chicago affiliate WFLD.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN COHN, WFLD-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Chicago area residents now vulnerable to West Nile virus are on edge. Here in Portage Park, folks are checking everywhere they go for mosquitoes.

PAUL BAUMGARTNER, RESIDENT: I'm very concerned because the simple fact is the kind of work I do, I work around outside of houses, I'm in a lot of vegetation all the time. So when I go in a yard and around in bushes, there's tons of mosquitoes. And every time one goes on me that's the first thing I think of is the West Nile virus.

COHN: Three new cases of the mosquito-born disease have hit the area. In south suburban Cook County, a 70-year-old man is in serious condition at Little Company of Mary Hospital. A 49-year-old woman from Will County has been treated and released. And a 41-year-old woman in the Portage Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side has been treated and released.

DR. WILLIAM PAUL, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: She got sick at the end of July, was admitted to the hospital the second day of August. Her symptoms were fever, headache, stiff neck.

COHN: City health officials have been tracking the West Nile virus since last year. They've planted larvicide pellets in large sections of the city to target breeding grounds. The city health department has also put hospitals on alert. So far, 77 counties in Illinois have reported cases, and state officials are counting on residents to take the threat seriously.

DR. JOHN LUMPKIN, PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR: People need to take it very seriously, the warnings that we're issuing. That most important thing is to protect you, your family and your community is to remove breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

COHN: The virus is spread by house mosquitoes that stay within about two miles of where they hatch so it's important that folks eliminate any areas of standing water on their property. Experts also advise that people stay indoors at dawn and dusk. If you have to go outside, wear long sleeved shirts and long pants and wear insect repellant with at least 25 percent DEET.

LUMPKIN: People who tend to be older are the ones who also show some of the more severe symptoms. Whether it's because their immune system is -- isn't able to fight off the disease as well or perhaps also because they may have other diseases, but it seems to affect the elderly more severely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: That was a report from Lauren Cohn. She is with CNN Chicago affiliate WFLD.

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