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The first death this year in the US from West Nile virus has occurred in New
Jersey, heightening fears that the deadly virus is spreading from the New York
City area, where it first appeared in August last year. Robert McLean, director
of the National Wildlife Health Center, says that the virus now occupies a 650
to 800-kilometre-long zone in the eastern US. He expects migratory birds to
carry the virus even farther south this autumn. “We’re probably not going to get
rid of it and we’re going to have to deal with it in the future.”