The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE -- Six new cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Louisiana, bringing the state's total to 52 this year, state health officials said Monday.

The latest cases include three in Caddo Parish and one each in Bossier, Lafourche and Orleans parishes. Orleans is the only affected parish that previously had not reported a human case of West Nile in 2003.

No new deaths from West Nile were reported over the past week. So far, there has been one West Nile-related death this year in Louisiana, a 73-year-old Shreveport man.

Even though there is the prospect of cooler weather, residents still should take precautions against mosquito bites, said David Hood, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals.

``Past experience and the continued addition of cases have shown that West Nile is not just a summertime virus. Please remain vigilant.'

In Louisiana, much of the outbreak has centered in the area in and around Caddo and Bossier. The two parishes have recorded 35 of the 52 cases, with 30 in Caddo.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Colorado has reported 940 cases this year, followed by Nebraska with 326 and South Dakota with 250. There have been 2,324 West Nile cases and 44 deaths reported in the United States in 2003.