United States: Increased cases of west nile virus confirmed

WASHINGTON — The number of West Nile virus cases reported in the United States through early September is the highest year-to-date total since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected in this country in 1999, federal officials said Wednesday. The number of fatalities had jumped by nearly a third from the previous week, they said. Texas continues to be the state hit hardest, accounting for about half of all reported U.S. cases this year. Aerial spraying of insecticide in some areas has reduced the population of mosquitoes that carry the virus, officials there said. But the number of human cases is expected to rise through October because of the lag time between infection and reporting of the illness. Read article