December 20 2002  

Baby Had West Nile Virus

A brain-damaged baby girl born last month in upstate New York was infected with West Nile virus while in her mother's womb, marking the first known instance of West Nile transmission in the uterus, and raising fears that the virus can cause lasting neurological problems in newborns.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are not certain the newborn's severe nervous system problems were caused by the infection -- though they ruled out the other most likely potential sources. They held out hope that mother-to-fetus transmission may ultimately prove to be rare, noting that the only other pregnant woman carefully tracked after being diagnosed with West Nile gave birth to a healthy baby with no evidence of the virus.

Nonetheless, the case adds a new and frightening avenue of infection for West Nile, the mosquito-borne virus that has spread dramatically across the nation since it first appeared the United States in late 1999. Yesterday the CDC issued a special warning encouraging pregnant women to wear protective clothing and use insect repellent during mosquito season to reduce the risk of infection.

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  December 13 2002  

US blood quarantine

Blood banks in the US are quarantining all plasma frozen during the West Nile virus epidemic in order to reduce the risk of the disease spreading. An estimated 30,000 pints of plasma will be affected. Federal health officials only found out in September that it is possible, although unlikely, for West Nile to be spread through donated blood or organs. Of more than 3,800 cases of the virus this year about 13 are thought to have been caused by a blood transfusion. 

 October 03 2002  

U.S. Centers for Disease Control: Baby caught West Nile virus from mom's milk 

U.S. health officials confirmed Thursday that a Michigan infant has the West Nile virus and probably got it from the breast milk of his infected mother.

The child is healthy and his mother is recovering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC said it was virtually certain the virus came from breast milk, though there is no way to be completely sure. Doctors stressed that breast milk is the healthiest food for babies and that mothers shouldn't stop nursing because of West Nile fears.

Last week, when the case was being investigated, the CDC urged new mothers with the virus to talk to their doctor about whether to continue breastfeeding.

   Sep 28 2002   

West Nile virus has been detected in breast milk

West Nile virus has been detected in breast milk, raising the possibility that the microbe could be transmitted through nursing as well as by blood transfusion, organ donation and the usual route, mosquito bite, government officials said yesterday.

There have been no known cases of West Nile fever acquired through breast milk, and it's not known whether such transmission is possible, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized. However, viruses similar to West Nile can be passed in milk and infect humans, they said.

The agency made no recommendation on whether mothers diagnosed with West Nile virus should stop nursing. Only four of the 2,206 reported cases in the United States this year have been in children younger than 1, suggesting that transmission through nursing is rare, if it occurs at all.

   Sep 27 2002   

Louisiana public health officials Thursday reported three more deaths from West Nile virus and nearly two dozen new human cases, including a 6-week-old baby, the youngest victim of the mosquito-borne disease this year.

There have been a total of 14 deaths and 287 cases in Louisiana, which was being drenched by torrential rains from tropical storm Isidore.

Illinois reported a dozen new human cases of illness, but no new fatalities, bringing the total caseload in the state to 551, with 29 deaths. Two of the latest cases were in Chicago and seven from the suburbs.

Indiana Department of Public Health officials reported 26 probable West Nile virus cases Wednesday. Indiana had 100 confirmed cases and 3 deaths.

Iowa heath officials reported that state's 6th confirmed case, a 73-year-old woman who was recovering in a hospital. Iowa had 19 suspected cases.

At least 104 deaths and 2,212 human cases have been confirmed by the CDC nationwide.