Health officials: Alabama woman first to die from West Nile this year

> Health officials: Alabama woman first to die from West Nile this year

         

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Health officials: Alabama woman first to die from West Nile this year
 		 Monday, July 28, 2003
(07-28) 14:27 PDT MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) --

An elderly Alabama woman has become the first person in the nation this year to die from the West Nile virus, state health officials said Monday.

The woman, who was in her 80s and lived in Talladega County in central Alabama, became ill and died in July after being bitten by a mosquito infected with the virus, said Dr. John Mosely Hayes of the Alabama Department of Public Health. Her name was not released.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta had not confirmed the woman's death Monday and was awaiting blood samples to conduct its own tests, said CDC spokesman Llelwyn Grant.

The CDC has confirmed only one human case of the West Nile virus this year, involving an elderly South Carolina man. He has been released from the hospital.

Last year there were a record 4,156 West Nile cases in the United States, including 284 deaths. There were 49 human infections and four deaths from the virus in Alabama last year.

West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes that have fed on infected animals. It cannot be spread from person to person. The disease produces flu-like symptoms, including headaches, swollen glands, muscle aches and a rash.

 

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