12th Case of West Nile Reported

NEW YORK (AP) â€” A 52-year-old Staten Island man has become the 12th city resident this year to become infected with the West Nile virus. <br><br>The man, whose identity was not released, apparently became

Sunday, September 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” A 52-year-old Staten Island man has become the 12th city resident this year to become infected with the West Nile virus.

The man, whose identity was not released, apparently became infected in mid-August but tried to fight off symptoms including fever, joint and muscle pain, and dizziness. After he entered a hospital Tuesday, doctors diagnosed the virus.

The man remains lethargic but is listed in stable condition, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said.

The mayor said eight of the 12 people diagnosed with the disease continue to recover at home, while four remain hospitalized. All appear stable.

Giuliani said the city will continue spraying city neighborhoods with pesticides to control the virus until at least mid-October, when freezing temperatures should wipe out most mosquitoes.

Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit to force the city to stop spraying, saying the pesticides are potentially more harmful to people than the disease.

The judge presiding over the case, though, has already indicated that the several hundred complaints about the spraying to a city health hot line may not carry as much weight as the four deaths blamed on the disease last year.