W. Nile kills 2; more cases arise

STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
HARRISBURG -- Two more Pennsylvanians have died of the West Nile virus, and six new human cases of West Nile infection have been detected, state officials said Monday.
The two men who died, both of whom were from Lancaster County, were a 78-year-old who had just been diagnosed and a 74-year-old who was diagnosed on Thursday, state Health Secretary Calvin B. Johnson said.
The new cases included an 11-year-old girl from Clearfield County, a 48-year-old man from Berks County, a 51-year-old woman from Montgomery County, a 93-year-old woman from York County, and a 69-year-old woman from Allegheny County, the department said.
The information released Monday means there are now 126 confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania this year, and five deaths attributed to the virus.
There have been two confirmed cases of nonfatal human infection in Lawrence County and one in Mercer County this year.
The state also revealed that two more dead birds turned up with West Nile virus in Mercer County. A crow in Greenville and a blue jay in Wheatland died of the disease, the state Department of Health said Monday.