Top Health Official Warns West Nile Could Hit Hard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson warned on Monday of the potential for another outbreak of the deadly mosquito-borne West Nile virus in the United States this summer because of the wet spring weather.

"Because of the tremendous amount of rain we've had, the kind of moisture that's in the fields; it's going to be great fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes. We can expect that West Nile virus is going to hit the United States pretty hard this summer," Thompson said.

Appearing on CNN, Thompson said that funds were being provided to state and local agencies to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds, which he said was the best way to prevent the spread of West Nile virus.

The health secretary also urged people to take steps to guard against mosquito bites.

"We're encouraging everybody that when they go outside to make sure that they use insect repellent wherever they go, to use long-sleeve shirts and blouses when they're out in the woods and to avoid areas where insects, and especially mosquitoes, are," Thompson said.

U.S. health officials reported last week that the West Nile virus had resurfaced in two dozen states, but they stopped short of predicting another record outbreak.

Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 4,156 cases of West Nile in the United States, including 284 deaths. The outbreak was the largest since the virus first appeared in the Western Hemisphere in 1999.

No human cases have been reported this year.

Source: Reuters Health. Tuesday, June 17, 2003