COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this summer the potentially-fatal West Nile virus spread southward. Now the experts warn it's heading west. And in a matter of hours they'll be taking their concerns and their predictions to Congress. Joining us now from Washington with more on this, our medical correspondent Rea Blakey -- Rea.</s>REA BLAKAY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Colleen. We are told that West Nile is a virus that very likely we will simply have to live with, that from the U.S. Geological Survey. They say that there are no barriers to the spread of the virus, and in fact, it's anticipated that perhaps sometime next year the virus could extend into the Gulf Coast and into Central America. It's already in Canada and 20 U.S. states. Let's take a look at a map that shows you the locations of those states. Essentially, we're talking about an area that extends along much of the Eastern Seaboard there, down to the Florida Keys, west over toward the Mississippi River, including states as far north as Illinois and Wisconsin, and then down towards New Orleans in Louisiana. Now, that represents about a third of the country. Last year, West Nile infected only about 5 percent of the U.S. states. So, the newest concern with this public health threat is year- round biting mosquitoes. Experts saying that the virus is, in fact, spreading faster and farther than they had anticipated, and since the virus usually shows up along the migratory paths of birds, the east- west spread is somewhat surprising. Now the U.S. geological experts say it's possible West Nile was introduced earlier in the spring in those areas, but not detected until now. So far, Colleen, there have been 16 U.S. cases, one death. Back to you.</s>MCEDWARDS: All right, Rea Blakey, thanks very much.
West Nile Spreading Faster than Anticipated