 |
| E-MAIL: |
|
Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists. Enter your address: |
|
Or: Get a free e-mail account |
| DISCUSSION: |
| message boards |
| chat |
| feedback |
| CNN WEB SITES: |
 |
| AsiaNow |
| En Español |
| Em Português |
| Svenska |
| Norge |
| Danmark |
| Italian |
| FASTER ACCESS: |
| europe |
| japan |
| TIME INC. SITES: |
| CNN NETWORKS: |
|
| more networks |
| transcripts |
| SITE INFO: |
| help |
| contents |
| search |
| ad info |
| jobs |
| WEB SERVICES: |
| health > story page |         |
New York health officials wage preventive campaign as 4 new cases of encephalitis strain reportedOctober 1, 1999
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Workers from the Centers for Disease Control and New York City's health department will begin an information blitz in several languages on Friday to increase awareness of a dangerous strain of encephalitis. Health officials also will conduct a random survey of residents in the "hot zone" neighborhoods of northern Queens where many of the cases were first discovered. Officials said blood samples will be requested to determine the presence of antibodies.
Officials on Thursday reported four new cases of the West Nile-like virus, a strain of encephalitis, bringing the total number of cases in the New York City area to 35. The city will resume spraying pesticides to kill mosquitoes, officials said, because traps in two areas have found mosquitoes which are still carrying the virus. The disease is believed to be transmitted by mosquitoes that typically feed off birds and then pass the virus to humans. Health Commissioner Neal Cohen urged residents to use caution. "High quality mosquito control will never rid us of all mosquitoes so precautions need to be taken," he said. The death toll from confirmed cases across the state remains at five, including four in the New York City region; a total of 47 cases have been reported statewide. Ground spraying starts Friday nightThe latest cases include two people from Queens, an 86-year-old woman and a 29-year-old woman, as well as a 5-year-old boy from the Bronx and a 32-year-old woman from Manhattan. The boy is doing well in the hospital; the others were treated and released. Symptoms include headache, fever and swollen glands. The virus is usually not fatal but the very old, the very young and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable. Until recently, the virus had never been reported in the Western Hemisphere. Officials said ground spraying with the pesticide resmithrin will begin in the "hot-zone" area of Queens starting Friday night; spraying will resume in Brooklyn and Manhattan on Saturday evening. Cohen said pesiticide spraying in recent weeks has greatly reduced the mosquito population throughout the city, but the decision was made to resume spraying after the mosquito trappings showed more needed to be done to eradicate the problem. Blood samples to help with health responseCohen said it's vital "to communicate to the neighborhoods so that people will understand the value of their participation in this survey." The goal of the information survey is to reach 300 households and conduct 15 minute interviews, asking residents about their physical condition and their travel history. A blood sample will also be requested. The blood samples will be checked for antibodies to the virus. Officials estimate the survey will take 2 or 3 weeks to complete. The hope, said Cohen, is "to help us to understand the environmental factors, potential risk factors and protective factors that will allow us to develop our program for next year to ensure that there is no reoccurence and that we would have all the necessary program components in place to make sure that we would have early warning signs if such a reoccurence were to present itself." RELATEDS AT  :
West Nile-like virus outbreak confirmed in New York RELATED STORIES: Bird migration could spread rare encephalitis strain RELATED SITES: Columbia University School of Public Health
LATEST HEALTH STORIES: China SARS numbers pass 5,000
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CNN's Dr. Steve Salvatore gives background on West Nile virus
