Israel reports 61 new cases of West Nile fever, fatalities rise to 12

Israel reports 61 new cases of West Nile fever, fatalities rise to 12 Jerusalem, July 6 (IANS) The Israeli Ministry of Health reported a fresh fatality from West Nile fever, pushing the death toll due to infections in the country to 12. The ministry also reported on Friday 61 new cases of infection with the virus, increasing the total number of cases detected in the country since the beginning of May to 236, reported Xinhua news agency. It is the highest annual number of West Nile fever cases since 2000, during which more than 400 cases of infection with the virus were diagnosed in Israel, according to the ministry's data. Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection announced the detection of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus in several locations in the central Shfela region. The ministry added that it directed local authorities to expand the monitoring and extermination actions and called on the public to dry up sources of stagnant water, the best place for mosquitoes to breed. --IANS int/rs/svn