HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut health officials say two people who were hospitalized for encephalitis have now been diagnosed with West Nile Virus.
The Department of Public Health on Friday identified the people as Bridgeport and Stamford residents aged between 50 and 59 years.
Their cases raise the number of people who have been reported with the infection to five this year. Others include residents of Bridgeport, Greenwich, New Haven, Stamford and Trumbull.
Two other Connecticut residents were infected while traveling out of the state.
West Nile has been found in mosquitoes tested in 19 Connecticut towns so far this season.
It is transmitted by mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. In a small number of cases, infection can result in encephalitis or meningitis, which can lead to paralysis, coma and possibly death.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
