Colorado Woman Dies of West Nile Virus;

5th Death in Hardest-Hit State

August 10, 2003

DENVER (AP) — A fifth person has died from the West Nile virus in Colorado, the state hardest hit by the disease this year.

The 67-year-old Boulder woman died Tuesday, six days after the onset of West Nile symptoms including encephalitis, Boulder County Public Health officials said Sunday. Lab results returned late Friday confirmed she had the virus, said Heath Harmon, a coordinator with the county health department.

Cindy Parmenter, spokeswoman for the Colorado health department, confirmed the death Sunday.

Colorado, which had a dozen human cases last year, leads the nation with 166 so far this year, according to state officials.

Why Colorado has seen such high numbers of the mosquito-borne disease is unclear to experts. Some have blamed the outbreak on a wet June and very hot July, which they say provided the perfect summer for mosquitoes. Others have said the weather doesn't entirely explain the numbers.

Colorado differs from other states because it reports mild cases of the virus that some do not report, state epidemiologist John Pape has said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed only 72 Colorado cases and only one of its deaths as of Friday, according to the organization's Web site. Nationwide, the agency confirmed 182 West Nile cases and five deaths.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-10-colorado-west-nile_x.htm