September 11, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - The West Nile virus is likely to spread farther south and west, possibly reaching Central America and California by early next year, scientists said.
The virus, which is transmitted to humans, birds, horses and other animals by infected mosquitoes, has been reported this year in 20 states - mostly in the Northeast - and the District of Columbia.
Scientists said as millions of birds head south for the winter, they threaten to move the virus to states along the Gulf coast, which have warmer climates and are a haven for mosquitoes.
When the birds migrate in the Spring, the virus could then spread to Midwestern and Western states.
"I see it happening, how soon we don't know," Robert McLean, director of the National Wildlife Health Center at the U.S. Geological Survey, told members of Congress in a briefing Monday.
West Nile first appeared in North America in 1999. This year, 15 human cases have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control. One person has died.
Steve Ostroff, federal West Nile coordinator at the CDC, said that while the virus is spreading, fewer than 1 percent of the people bitten by an infected mosquito will become seriously ill.
"This is a problem we're going to have to deal with for the years to come...The issue for us is not to think about eradicating the virus. That's not feasible. We have to think of controlling it," Ostroff said.
He said using insect repellants, covering up in long pants and shirts, and staying inside at dusk are some precautions people can take to guard against contracting the virus through mosquito bites.
The West Nile virus causes a flulike illness. For older people and those with weak immune systems, it can cause deadly encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
A vaccine against the virus is available for horses. The National Institutes of Health predicts there will be a vaccine for people within 2 years.
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
