FRIDAY: West Nile virus may be to blame for NY man’s death (10:45 a.m.)

Associated Press

August 29, 2008 10:45 am

— NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials are investigating whether the West Nile virus is to blame for the death of a Staten Island man.
Health officials say a 65-year-old man died in mid-August. They have not identified him.
The man was the sixth person in the city this season to contract the virus, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes.
The health department says 18 New Yorkers contracted the virus last year; three of them died.
A Long Island man’s death already has been attributed to the virus. Nassau County health officials say 75-year-old George Cody Jr. died on Monday. They have also linked an 80-year-old woman’s death to the virus.