SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health today reported seven additional deaths in Illinois have been linked to the 2002 outbreak of West Nile virus, bringing to 62 the number of fatalities in the state from the mosquito-borne disease.

Dr. John R. Lumpkin, state public health director, said those recently confirmed to have died with West Nile disease were:

CHICAGO: A 50-year-old man, who became ill Aug. 12 and died Nov. 2; a 79-year-old woman, who became ill Sept. 19 and died Sept. 27; and a 78-year-old man, who became ill Aug. 24 and died Sept. 2.

SUBURBAN (NORTHERN) COOK COUNTY: A 57-year-old man, who became ill Sept. 8 and died Sept. 13; and a 59-year-old man, who became ill Sept. 7 and died Oct. 1.

MACON COUNTY: An 89-year-old woman, who became ill Sept. 24 and died Oct. 15.

SANGAMON COUNTY: A 77-year-old man, who became ill Sept. 10 and died Sept. 17.

The 50-year-old Chicagoan was reported as a case by the Department on Sept. 4, while the other six cases only recently came to the Department's attention through laboratory tests, information from another state and death records.

The number of Illinoisans who contracted West Nile disease last year has climbed to 877 with the addition of the six fatalities not previously reported as cases and 35 newly identified non-fatal cases. Some of the recent cases were confirmed through blood and spinal fluid specimens submitted to CDC last year for analysis after initial tests for West Nile disease were inconclusive at the Department's laboratory or at private laboratories. Others were determined by a re-evaluation of previous test results.

The 35 non-fatal new cases announced today reported symptoms between July 27 and Oct. 13. They include 14 from Chicago, 14 from suburban Cook County, two from DuPage County and one each from Fulton, Jasper, Macon, Rock Island and Sangamon counties.

Cold weather in late October ended the threat of West Nile disease in Illinois last year. The latest onset of illness in the state was mid-October.

Besides the seven deaths reported today, the state's other fatalities have been from Chicago (14), suburban Cook County (18), DuPage County (3), Fulton County (3), Macon County (2), Madison (2), Sangamon County (3), and one each from Edgar, Effingham, Jackson, Jefferson, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, Moultrie and White counties.

More than 4,000 cases of West Nile disease and more than 260 deaths have been recorded in the U.S. for 2002 with Illinois reporting the highest number of cases and deaths.

A complete listing of the positive humans, birds, mosquito batches and horses identified so far this year in Illinois, by county, is available on the Department's Web site at www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/wnv.htm.