Kentucky, Texas report West Nile deaths

FRANKFORT, Kentucky (CNN) -- Kentucky and Texas have reported those states' first human deaths from West Nile virus, health-department officials said Tuesday.

They bring the number of deaths from the disease reported around the country to 14. Twelve of those have been confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has not yet confirmed the cause of the Kentucky death and one reported earlier in St. Louis, Missouri.

In Kentucky -- where the death also was the state's first known human case of West Nile virus -- an 84-year-old Union County man died Monday from the virus, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health Services. The agency said the man, who had multiple health problems, had been hospitalized since early August.

In a written statement, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Rice Leach said, "It is important for Kentuckians to know that the risk of people getting ill is small, and fatal cases are unusual."

In Houston, Texas, a 52-year-old woman died Friday from the disease, said Jim Schuermann, an epidemiologist with the Zoonosis Control Division of the Texas Department of Health. She also was hospitalized earlier this month.

According to the department, 25 people in Texas have been infected with West Nile, about half of them in the Houston area.

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Nationwide, there are 251 confirmed or probable cases of the disease in people, the CDC said.

Authorities in Colorado and Wyoming reported Saturday what could be the first official cases of the West Nile virus in those states.

In Wyoming, a horse from eastern Goshen County near the Nebraska border died of encephalitis, said Terry Creekmore, West Nile virus project coordinator for the Wyoming Department of Health.

In Denver, the virus was detected in the blood of two horses and a dead crow from Weld County and one horse from Pueblo County, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The CDC has not officially confirmed the cases.

"This is not a cause to panic," said Wyoming Health Officer Dr. Brent Sherard."We've been preparing for the arrival since last summer, and we're working at the state and local level to educate the public and providers to protect the health of our citizens."

Encephalitis and meningitis are rare but potentially fatal symptoms of the infection.

John Pape, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Health Department, called the detection the first among animals in his state. Two horses died and a third is recovering.

No human cases have been reported in either state.

People in areas where the virus is present are urged to wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants and to use insect repellent containing the chemical DEET.

A CDC official said last week that before cool weather stops this year's epidemic about 1,000 people could become sick with the disease and about 100 are likely to die.

West Nile virus was first reported in New York in 1999. Since then, the federal health agency has confirmed finding the virus in animals in 39 states and the District of Columbia.