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Panel wonders if West Nile is bioterrorism, Diana Washington Valdez El Paso Times -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is West Nile virus bioterror? The U.S.-Mexico Border Commission plans to take up as one of its topics later this year the West Nile virus. Dr. Laurance Nickey, one of the commissioners, said experts are projecting a favorable season for the mosquito that transmits the virus. It is intriguing that the Centers for Disease Control says on its Web site that the virus was not detected in the Western Hemisphere until 1999, when it hit New York City. Before that, the CDC reports, the virus was...

<p>The WHO says the Singapore case poses a 'low risk' to general public health.</p> <p>SINGAPORE -- Singapore authorities say a 27-year-old man has SARS, the world's first case since a global outbreak was declared over in July.</p> <p>Singaporean officials confirmed the laboratory technician had SARS after results from a second test were released Tuesday, and have ordered 25 people who have been in contact with the man to stay at home.</p>

Weekly cases of West Nile Virus are being reported from around the country. These media reports often mention that only the very old may die from the dreaded virus. Is this meant to reassure us – only Grandma and Grandpa may die? Taken in a larger context it is apparent that the human death toll from environmental policies continues to mount while the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" and "Dallas Morning News" lecture us on riding the train and the bus. The US is in the midst of a nationwide virus epidemic from disease-carrying mosquitoes because misinformed or timid politicians refuse to...

<p>DENVER - A 67-year-old woman has died of the West Nile virus in Colorado, bringing to five the number of fatalities in the state hardest hit by the bug this year.</p> <p>Colorado, which had a dozen human cases last year, leads the nation with 166 so far this year, according to state officials.</p>

In a world that is getting smaller and more crowded, where people -- and animals -- can travel around the globe in a matter of hours, experts say outbreaks of diseases like monkeypox, SARS and West Nile virus will continue to increase. "This is part of a new normal of emerging infectious diseases," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding. "This is a global community" and the recent outbreaks "illustrate the tendency for a problem in one corner of the world to emerge as a problem in another corner of the world." Monkeypox, which first appeared in the Western Hemisphere last month,...

Health officials are investigating at least 29 suspected cases of people in three Midwestern states who may have been stricken in the outbreak so far, which state and federal health officials are urgently working to contain. State and federal authorities are tracing about 200 animals that were distributed in 15 states by an exotic pet dealer in Illinois. The dealer sold rodents known as prairie dogs, which are believed to be the source of the outbreak. In addition to trying to prevent more infections, officials are worried that the animals could spread the disease to wild rabbits and other indigenous...

OTTAWA - Canadian health authorities are worried an outbreak of West Nile virus infection in Louisiana, which has killed four of 58 infected people, could mean the mosquito-borne illness is changing the way it spreads. "Something seems peculiar about Louisiana with such a large number of human cases," said Harvey Artsob, head of zoonotic diseases at Health Canada. "It's important for us to understand why, so that all our messages of reassurance in other parts of North America still hold. What's changed in Louisiana?" As Canadians head to summer cottages this weekend, the official government message remains that West Nile...

Thursday, May 29, 2003 West Nile Virus could be “bigger than sars” in 2003 BOSTON — West Nile Virus, which sickened 4,156 people and resulted in 284 deaths in North America last year, could end up in 2003 having a considerably bigger human and non-human impact than that seen to date with SARS, according to two Harvard experts. The pair indicated that the Plains, western states and Alaska may be particularly susceptible to 2002-like West Nile Virus conditions, which already are at alarming levels in Central and Latin America. Dr. Paul Epstein, associate director of the Harvard Medical School...