ecently, state health officials have confirmed 640 people have been infected with the virus. Sadly, 23 of those reported have died from the virus. Dallas County has reported ten deaths and more than 200 others have been infected, which is the highest number of West Nile-related infection and deaths of any county in the U.S. Also, officials are currently looking into three additional deaths in the state that they feel are somehow linked to the disease, including one that is in Dallas County.
The 1118 cases reported so far in 2012 makes this the highest number of West Nile virus disease cases ever reported to the CDC through the third week in August. This goes as far back as when the first case of West Nile virus was first detected in the U.S. in 1999. About 75% of the cases being reported are focused on five states: Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Dakota, Louisiana and Texas. Almost half of all of the cases have been reported from the state of Texas.
