Second death in Mississippi linked to West Nile virus

The AssociatedPress

JACKSON, Miss. -- A second death in Mississippi has been linked to the West Nile virus, which has now been found in every state from Texas to the Atlantic.

The latest death, announced Tuesday, was recorded in Madison County in central Mississippi. Officials had announced a death in neighboring Hinds County.

The mosquito-borne virus also has killed seven people this year in Louisiana, where at least 85 people have contracted the virus. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 145 people have been infected this year in six states and the District of Columbia.

Also Tuesday, Florida reported its first human case of West Nile, but health officials said the patient probably got the disease during a recent visit to Louisiana.

The number of states that have found the virus in humans, animals or mosquitoes this year rose to 37 Tuesday, when South Carolina health officials announced they had found West Nile in a dead bird.