Hadler spoke at the International Conference on the West Nile Virus, held in White Plains, New York, last week. West Nile virus appeared in New York in 1999. In 2000, there were 17 cases and one death. Efforts are under way to develop a vaccine against the disease, but are not expected to bear fruit for years.
Birds are the main carriers of the infection, which is spread by mosquitoes.
Humans are only believed to catch the disease from mosquitoes, and are not thought to be able to catch it from other infected animals or from one another. Public health experts sample birds, especially crows, and mosquito populations in order to identify the geographic spread of the virus. In 2000, according to the CDC, West Nile was found in birds in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, but human cases were limited to New York and New Jersey. Ostroff said he did not expect West Nile to appear in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, if it indeed does, until late August and into the fall. All panelists agreed that public education efforts and attempts to wipe out larvae of the mosquitoes that carry the disease would be crucial in 2001.