New West Nile Cases in Ontario

September 13, 2002

TORONTO (CP) -- Two new cases of the West Nile virus have been confirmed in Ontario, the Ontario Health Ministry said Friday.

Positive results were obtained by lab tests in a 60-year-old man and a 70-year-old man, both from Peel Region just west of the city, said David Jensen, a spokesman for Ontario's medical officer of health.

The report of the positive cases brings the total number of Canadians stricken with West Nile this year to three. Earlier this month a Burlington, Ont., man became the first person this year to be diagnosed with the mosquito-borne illness, but he has since recovered completely.

Health officials are investigating a number of probable cases across the country.

Jensen said that the spread of the virus through Ontario and the infection of humans this year will certainly be considered in planning designed to protect the public from the disease for next year. No extra precautions will be taken this year, however.

"Obviously the mosquito season is almost over and we won't be doing any spraying this year," Jensen said.
"We'll have to take a look at how much it spread in the province this year and decide what steps we want to take for next season."

The potentially deadly condition is marked by brain swelling that strikes less than one per cent of those infected with the West Nile virus.

While the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are more likely to contract the virus, it can hit perfectly healthy people.

The number of Canadian cases is relatively small when compared to the United States.

There have been 54 deaths from West Nile in the U.S. and 1,295 people have tested positive in laboratory tests, the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta reports. The virus has shown most often in the southern States and Illinois.

http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/westnile_sep13-cp.html