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American Morning
House Call: West Nile Virus
Aired June 23, 2003 - 07:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Health officials in every state now warning of West Nile virus, an outbreak this summer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us. It is that time of year, huh, in our "House Call" and West Nile. Good morning -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. What has Chad been saying all year so far? Wet, wet, wet, right? Well, that means good news and bad news, no question.
The bad news, first, as you mentioned, Bill, every state in the country are now worried about outbreaks of West Nile virus. The good news is, so far this year no human cases have been reported.
Incidentally, last year in 2002 the first case was reported in May of last year.
Now, there's a little bit of history for you here. West Nile virus came to the United States in 1999 in Queens, New York. That was the first place it actually arrived. In that year, there were 62 severe cases, four years ago. Last year, 39 states had West Nile virus, 4,100 human cases, 284 deaths.
Again so far this year, Bill, no human cases.
But let's take a look at a map now. You can see the numbers there. Let's take a look at a map as well showing where West Nile has come. You can see in green -- I'm sorry -- in yellow, the states that actually have West Nile, all the way from Florida to Wyoming, states that now have West Nile virus. Every state concerned that they may get it. There probably will be human cases this year. This is clearly a virus that is now here to stay.
There are things you can reduce your risk. We've touted these things several times now. There are things that you can do these all of the time to try and decrease your risk of West Nile virus. Avoid mosquito bites obviously, use mosquito repellent with a DEET no higher than 35 percent DEET, drain standing water in flower pots, things like that around your house, install or repair screens, try and not go outside at dusk or dawn.
It's going to be a wet year this year it looks like, from what Chad has been telling us, so be careful out there and protect yourself -- Bill.
HEMMER: Good stuff to know. Thank you, Sanjay. We'll talk to you next hour, all right? TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 23, 2003 - 07:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Health officials in every state now warning of West Nile virus, an outbreak this summer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us. It is that time of year, huh, in our "House Call" and West Nile. Good morning -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. What has Chad been saying all year so far? Wet, wet, wet, right? Well, that means good news and bad news, no question.
The bad news, first, as you mentioned, Bill, every state in the country are now worried about outbreaks of West Nile virus. The good news is, so far this year no human cases have been reported.
Incidentally, last year in 2002 the first case was reported in May of last year.
Now, there's a little bit of history for you here. West Nile virus came to the United States in 1999 in Queens, New York. That was the first place it actually arrived. In that year, there were 62 severe cases, four years ago. Last year, 39 states had West Nile virus, 4,100 human cases, 284 deaths.
Again so far this year, Bill, no human cases.
But let's take a look at a map now. You can see the numbers there. Let's take a look at a map as well showing where West Nile has come. You can see in green -- I'm sorry -- in yellow, the states that actually have West Nile, all the way from Florida to Wyoming, states that now have West Nile virus. Every state concerned that they may get it. There probably will be human cases this year. This is clearly a virus that is now here to stay.
There are things you can reduce your risk. We've touted these things several times now. There are things that you can do these all of the time to try and decrease your risk of West Nile virus. Avoid mosquito bites obviously, use mosquito repellent with a DEET no higher than 35 percent DEET, drain standing water in flower pots, things like that around your house, install or repair screens, try and not go outside at dusk or dawn.
It's going to be a wet year this year it looks like, from what Chad has been telling us, so be careful out there and protect yourself -- Bill.
HEMMER: Good stuff to know. Thank you, Sanjay. We'll talk to you next hour, all right? TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
