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<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles County woman has tested positive for West Nile virus in what is believed to be the first case of a person contracting the illness in the western United States, state health officials said Friday in announcing preliminary laboratory results.</p>

Saddam Connection: West Nile Virus the First Bioweapon? Dave Eberhart Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001 Lost amidst the news about the bioterror use of anthrax is the growing menace of West Nile virus – and evidence it may have been the first bioweapon used by Iraq against the U.S. This week the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that a Louisiana man had been infected, indicating the disease has spread far from its point of origin, New York. West Nile virus, the mosquito-borne disease once totally foreign to the Western Hemisphere, has now spread from New York to Florida,...

CDC Team Gauges Risk of West Nile Spread Via Blood By Mary Beth Nierengarten NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - West Nile virus infection, the mosquito-borne illness now spreading across the US, could be transmitted through blood transfusions, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. But the risk--while relatively high--would only exist for blood donated during peak times of infection, they conclude. West Nile virus is carried by certain birds, and can be passed to humans via mosquitoes. The virus--which originated in Africa and was first spotted in the United States in New York in 1999--has...

<p>The acceleration of a three-year-old outbreak of an exotic, mosquito-borne infection is worrying public health experts across the country. Louisiana has been hardest-hit this year by the West Nile virus, with at least 85 cases and eight deaths, but since infections were first found in the U.S. three years ago, cases have been discovered in 35 states and the District of Columbia. By next year, the virus is expected to cross the Rockies and spread to the Western states.</p>

WASHINGTON - Public officials nationwide inadvertently are creating vast breeding grounds for mosquitoes, including those that carry the West Nile virus, by installing stormwater retention ponds near businesses and homes to reduce contaminants that collect in water. As concern over the mosquito-borne virus heightens, the effort to create new ponds and clean up old ones has pitted two environmental causes against each other. The ponds help keep pollutants out of streams, bays and drinking water reservoirs while meeting federal and local water quality standards, advocates say. The purpose is to collect rainfall, urban runoff and chemicals from farms and lawns...

The latest news, as reported by UPI and carried in the NewsMax.com wires, has not underestimated the seriousness of the infection caused by the West Nile virus. Indeed, in Louisiana, which has already reported five deaths so far, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who doubles as the head of the state's tourism agency, announced on Aug. 6 that cans of insect repellent will be made available free of charge at visitor centers located near the state's borders. And yet, so far only NewsMax.com, the Medical Sentinel of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the appendices in my book "Cuba in...

Virus or Environment? Commentator Questions Blame Placed on West Nile Virus CommentaryBy Nicholas Regush Outbreaks of encephalitis from the "West Nile" virus are not getting the proper scientific attention. The scope of the research is too narrow. The potential importance of polluted and unhealthy environments in which West Nile virus outbreaks often occur is being ignored due to lack of funding and scientific indifference. It's noteworthy that West Nile virus is typically described by scientists as a rare, mild and usually harmless infection in humans, affecting mostly the elderly. In birds, however, the virus has been highly touted as a...

Doctor: West Nile cases no cause to panic Man, 71, in hospital; woman has recovered from flulike symptoms 08/06/2002 By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News A 33-year-old Balch Springs woman and a 71-year-old North Dallas man appear to be the first North Texas residents infected with the West Nile virus, Dallas County health officials said Monday. The woman has recovered from flulike symptoms, and the man remained in stable condition at an undisclosed Dallas hospital, said Dr. Assefa Tulu, county epidemiologist. The virus, which has been moving across the United States since 1999, is harbored in birds...

West Nile Q&A 08/06/2002 Where did West Nile virus come from? The West Nile virus is commonly found in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia and the Middle East. It was first detected in the United States in 1999. There is no consensus about how it arrived in the United States. How is it spread? The virus is spread through infected mosquitoes. It cannot be spread from person to person. What are the symptoms of infection? Most people infected with the virus will have no symptoms. Some, however, may have a fever, headache, body aches and swollen lymph nodes. A...

"West Nile Surfacing Locally In Humans Texas Reports 10 Human Cases Of West Nile According to the Texas Department of Health, there are now two probable human cases of West Nile virus in Dallas County. The Dallas County Health Department says that the first victim, who first reported the symptoms on July 10, is from Balch Springs. Her symptoms included: fever, rash, chills, and joint and muscle aches. The 33-year-old woman is reported to be well and not in any distress. The Dallas County Health Department says that the second victim is a 71-year-old man from the city of Dallas,...

10,000 may be infected West Nile virus infects many, but few fall ill By MIKE DUNNE mdunne@theadvocate.com Advocate staff writer While there are 58 known cases of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Louisiana, one state health official estimated 10,000 to 12,000 other people have been infected, felt no symptoms and are now immune to the disease. West Nile virus has claimed four lives, two in East Baton Rouge Parish. Twelve of the 58 cases are from East Baton Rouge Parish. On Tuesday, Dr. Louis Cataldie, the parish's coroner, confirmed the disease caused the death of an 83-year-old woman, and now...

By TONY LEYSRegister Staff Writer08/03/2002 Evidence of the West Nile virus' sweep through Iowa continues to mount. State health leaders said Friday that they have detected the virus in four more counties: Dickinson, Franklin, Kossuth and Dubuque. That brings the total to 15, with more expected soon.The mosquito-borne virus can cause fatal brain swelling in rare cases. It originated in Africa and entered the United States at New York City in 1999. It first appeared in eastern Iowa last fall, and has been spreading this summer.Researchers track the virus through discoveries of dead blue jays and crows, which are...

8 Texans reported to have West Nile 30 more being tested; Louisiana has the most human cases 07/31/2002 By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News Texas health officials reported the first human cases of West Nile virus Tuesday eight people who live in three southeastern counties. Thirty more Texans are being tested, they said. Jim Schuermann, a state epidemiologist, said it was premature to call the expanding number of infections an epidemic in the Houston area, which is the hardest-hit part of the state. "We have no way of predicting how many more human cases we're going to...

West Nile virus spreading faster than expected Mon Jul 29, 6:51 PM ET By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON - West Nile virus ( news - web sites) is sickening people far earlier this summer than usual, and is spreading so quickly - it's hit 34 states, as far west as South Dakota - that health officials believe it will reach California this year or next. Nobody knows how bad the mosquito-borne illness will get - although a rapidly growing outbreak among 32 people in Louisiana began a month earlier than West Nile has ever struck in this country,...

IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25, 2002 White House Bird Test Positive for West Nile Virus (Washington, DC) The District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH) announced that the crow, retrieved from the White House on Sunday, July 21, tested positive for the West Nile Virus.   In response, DOH has larvacided, and spoken to White House Secret Service.  In addition, DOH has identified sites to collect mosquitoes, near the location, for testing. White House Secret Service reported two dead crows to DOH on Sunday night at 8:30 pm.  The birds were discovered on the South Lawn. One of the crows was...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) A dead crow discovered on the White House grounds was infected with West Nile virus, health officials said after the bird was tested.</p> <p>The crow is one of two found near a fountain on the South Lawn this week. The first was discovered late Sunday by Secret Service officers, who then found the second early Monday.</p>

Houston man has West Nile virus 07/23/2002 From Staff and Wire Reports HOUSTON - State and federal health officials said tests have now confirmed that a Houston man is the first human infected by the West Nile virus in Texas. The man, who lives near Addicks Reservoir in western Harris County, was treated and released. Another man, from Orange County, remained in guarded condition at Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center with what doctors describe as encephalitis and muscle weakness on his right side. Blood tests that could link his illness to the West Nile virus were expected later Tuesday....

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Three men have been hospitalized with the West Nile virus, the first human cases of the potentially deadly infection reported in the nation this year, officials said. A 78-year-old man was diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus Monday, and two more men, ages 62 and 53, were diagnosed Thursday. All live in towns east of Baton Rouge. Gary Belfamo, a public health veterinarian and assistant state epidemiologist, said officials suspect the men were exposed to the virus at least two weeks ago. Dr. Anthony Marfin with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday...

CHICAGO, May 24 (UPI) -- Illinois public health officials Friday confirmed that a crow found dead in the Chicago suburb of LaGrange tested positive for West Nile virus. The bird was the third found in the area this month testing positive for the deadly virus that can cause fatal encephalitis in humans. State Public Health Director Dr. John Lumpkin said the latest infected bird was found May 15. The virus first appeared in New York in 1999 and has since been detected in 28 states, as far west as Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri. This year, viral activity has been identified...

For release May 15, 2002: MEDICAL JOURNAL EXPOSES CUBA'S BIOTERRORISM LINK May Have Been Source of West Nile Virus, Producing Anthrax-Like Toxins Washington -- Iraq may have unleashed the West Nile Virus in the United States via Cuba through the release of migratory birds infected with the virus, and may be producing antiobiotic-resistant toxins for future attacks, according to two articles published in The Medical Sentinel, The Official Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (Volume 6, Number 4). In the first, "West Nile Virus - Is Castro's Bioterrorism Threat Being Ignored," author Ernesto F. Betancourt, Castro's Washington...