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Eight new cases of West Nile confirmed in area

    Inquirer
    Published 

Pennsylvania officials yesterday confirmed eight new cases of West Nile virus, all of them local: six from Philadelphia County, one from Montgomery County and one from Chester County.

This brings the total of human cases so far this year to 13 - all in Southeastern Pennsylvania, where officials have seen the highest rate of infection in mosquitoes since 2003. That year, the state had 237 human cases of West Nile virus, with nine deaths.

In August, the state Health and Environmental Protection Departments decided that ground spraying for adult mosquitoes was not enough; they conducted aerial spraying of more than 100,000 acres in the region. But residents and local officials complained that they had not been given adequate notice of the spraying and questioned whether it was needed.

The latest cases include two Philadelphia females, ages 70 and 82; three Philadelphia males, ages 61, 74 and 76; an unidentified Philadelphian; a Chester County woman, 75; and a Montgomery County man, 42. No fatalities have been reported so far this year.

- Sandy Bauers

    Inquirer