Canadian May Have 1St 2003 Case of West Nile Virus

July 9, 2003

TORONTO, July 8 (Reuters) - Health officials in Canada's Atlantic province of New Brunswick should know this week if a man in his 60s has West Nile virus -- possibly the first case of the mosquito-spread disease in North America this year.

Nathalie Hache, a spokeswoman for New Brunswick's health department, said on Tuesday that preliminary tests showed that the man had West Nile virus, which is carried and spread by mosquitoes and can cause fatal inflammation of the brain.

His blood is now being tested and final results are expected by the end of the week.

Hache did not say how the man might have contracted the disease as there has never been a positive test for the virus in New Brunswick, either in birds or in humans.

"We'll have to wait to get the results back before we can make a conclusion," she said.

Federal and provincial health officials are monitoring dead birds that may carry the virus and spraying areas where mosquitoes breed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Canadian Blood Services said earlier this month it had started checking all the blood it collects for West Nile virus to keep its supply safe as summer progresses.

In Ontario there was one confirmed death from West Nile virus last year, and about a dozen other people who infected with the virus also died. In the United States, the virus caused 274 deaths last year.

Health officials across Canada are worried about an outbreak of West Nile virus this summer. They are most concerned in Toronto, where the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome left hospitals and nurses overworked.

SARS killed 39 people in and around the Toronto area and infected nearly 400 people since it came to Canada in March.

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