A Tarrant County resident has died from West Nile virus, health officials say Friday.
Tarrant County Public Health said the person was a senior adult who lived in the northeast part of the county and had other underlying medical conditions.
The death was the first from West Nile virus this season in Tarrant County, where the first human case of the year was reported July 31.
"While everyone is at risk of being affected by West Nile virus, people age 50 and older are at a higher risk of developing a severe WNV infection," Vinny Taneja, director for Tarrant County Public Health, said in a press release.
In 2014 Tarrant County reported its first human case on Aug. 4 and would eventually report 15 more before the end of the season. Nine of those cases were neuroinvasive and six were West Nile fever. None of those infected in 2014 died from the disease.
Symptoms of West Nile neuroinvasive disease include neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. The neuroinvasive form of the disease can be deadly.
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Dallas County Health and Human Services reported its second human case of West Nile virus for the 2015 season on Friday.
- Dress in long sleeves, pants when outside: For extra protection, spray thin clothing with repellent.
- DEET: Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent.
- Drain standing water in your yard and neighborhood: Mosquitoes can develop in any water stagnant for more than three days.
It has been recommended in the past that to avoid mosquito bites you should avoid being outdoors during Dusk and Dawn (the 4 Ds). While this is true for mosquitoes that commonly carry the West Nile virus, other types of mosquitoes that are more likely to carry Zika, dengue and chikungunya are active during the day. When outdoors, no matter what time of day, adjust your dress accordingly and wear insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus as your first line of defense against insect bites.
