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Breaking News

Woman Dies From West Nile Virus

Aired August 17, 2001 - 16:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: There is some late developing news this afternoon, we want to get the latest information. It is a very important health story, and so from our medical unit we have Carol Kinstle who is going to explain to us a little bit about what has been going on in the city of Atlanta, this afternoon, a very good reason for concern.

CAROL KINSTLE, CNN MEDICAL NEWS PRODUCER: That's right, Joie. We have just in from sources in the Fulton County government, that a woman has died from the West Nile virus.

She is a 70-year-old woman who was hospitalized and now has died. The Fulton County officials will holding a news conference within the hour, and we expect to get more information then. That's about all we know right now. We believe this will be the first death in the United States this year.

CHEN: There are a couple of things I want to underline for our audience, of course, our audience is not mostly in Atlanta, they are all around the country. Fulton County is the county that includes the city of Atlanta. This coming very close to a major metropolis and in the southeast. Can you talk about the significance of this death?

KINSTLE: Well this death would be the first, outside of the Northeast. In '99 we saw deaths in New York and northeast. Having a death in Southeast is significant. It shows that disease has spread. We have been seeing cases of it, but now to see a death is a significant development in this disease.

CHEN: And an elderly person as far as we know, which had been one of the areas of great concern.

KINSTLE: That's right. And what people want to remember is that the elderly, children, those with compromised immune systems, those will be the people at most risk here from this mosquito-borne illness.

CHEN: Our executive producer from the medical unit, Carol Kinstle, thank you very much for joining us with that late update. We are going to get more from you later in the hour. Thanks very much, Carol.

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