Date=5/02/2001

Type=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

Title=WEST NILE DETECTION (L-O)

Number=2-275602

Byline=MICHAEL LELAND

Dateline=CHICAGO

Internet=YES

Content=

Voiced At:

Intro: With summer approaching in the United States, scientists are again preparing to track the spread of a form of encephalitis called the "West Nile Virus." The virus has claimed nine lives in the United States since it was first detected two years ago on the East Coast. V-O-A's Michael Leland reports, officials in the Midwest city of Chicago are preparing for its eventual arrival.

Text: West Nile Virus has been detected so far only in the Northeast United States, but officials expect it to spread south and west during the next few years. The epidemiologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Dominic Travis, says since its first detection in the United States two years ago, the virus has spread quickly, mostly by birds.

/// Travis act 1 ///

If infected wild birds come to the area, by migration routes or whatever, mosquitoes would bite them and spread that (virus) to other animals or mammals, meaning humans, horses, birds.

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West Nile virus has infected tens of thousands of birds, as well as horses and at least 81 people. The virus is a form of encephalitis, and can cause weakness and flu-like symptoms ranging from mild to fatal. So far, nine people have died from the virus in the United States.

In Chicago, Mr. Travis says officials are looking for ways to detect the presence of West Nile Virus before it sickens humans.

/// Travis act 2 ///

We are working with the Department of Public Health in Chicago on a surveillance program that has the aim of testing all of our outdoor animals to see if they have been exposed to the virus, therefore detecting it early, should it come to Chicago.

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City officials say if they know the virus has arrived in the Chicago area, they can increase spraying and other measures to control mosquitoes and possibly prevent more cases of West Nile-related illness. Mr. Travis says the first round of testing for the zoo's animals will come in a few weeks.

/// Travis act 3 ///

We will actually be doing to major testing periods: one at the beginning of the mosquito season and another at the end of the mosquito season. We will be testing weekly some of the chickens and other animals.

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The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will spend 16-million dollars to track the virus. It plans to conduct tests as far west as California. Individual states in the eastern half of the United States are planning their own tests to detect the virus. Many are also trying to encourage property owners to eliminate potential mosquito breeding areas, like discarded tires or clogged rain gutters on houses. (signed)

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