Canada Reports 1st Probable West Nile Case of 2004

Canada has reported this year’s first probable case of human West Nile infection, after 10 people in Canada died of the mosquito-borne disease in 2003, Ontario health officials said on Friday.

Canada has reported this year’s first probable case of human West Nile infection, after 10 people in Canada died of the mosquito-borne disease in 2003, Ontario health officials said on Friday.The Medical Officer of Health for the southern Ontario county of Windsor-Essex said a 45-year-old woman, taken to hospital on Aug. 2, has shown positive results for the virus. She is still in hospital in a stable, but guarded condition.”This first human probable case for this year should remind all residents that mosquito season is not over and to continue to use protective measures to avoid mosquito bites,” Dr. Allen Heimann said in a statement.The virus, carried by birds and transmitted to people by mosquitoes, infected an estimated 1,300 people in Canada last year. It infected 9,300 in the United States and killed 240.”Although today’s finding is of concern, Ontario has experience in dealing with West Nile virus and has taken steps to reduce the risk,” Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sheela Basrur said in a statement. “Individuals should play their part by avoiding mosquito bites wherever possible.”(Source: Reuters, August, 2004)