Texas West Nile Cases More Than Double in 2 Weeks

DALLAS (AP/Staff) — State health officials say the tallies of Texas West Nile fever cases and deaths have more than doubled over the past two weeks, and there’s been another West Nile death in East Texas. Two cases were reported Wednesday to have ended in death, one each in Panola and Dallas counties, bringing the state total to 35. Earlier this month, a Gregg County resident died of West Nile virus. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday that 894 Texas cases had been reported so far this year, up from an Aug. 16 count of 336.

The August 16 death toll was 14. Texas has been a hotbed of West Nile fever spread by a mosquito-borne virus. At least 22 of the 36 reported Texas deaths were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with 13 in Dallas County. The most recent Dallas County death was reported Wednesday in Rowlett in northeastern Dallas County.