An elderly Houston man has become the area's first person to die this year from the West Nile virus, Houston health department officials said Friday.
The officials gave no date for the death, which was reported Wednesday. The man was between 75 and 84 and lived in southwest Houston.
The death was the area's sixth case of West Nile disease this summer. Three occurred in Houston and three elsewhere in Harris County.
Texas has been a hotbed of West Nile activity this summer, particularly in the northern part of the state. Dallas County this week reported its fourth and fifth deaths from the mosquito bite.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier this week that almost 80 percent of the year's 241 cases have been reported in Texas, Mississippi, or Oklahoma. The 241 cases, through the end of July, represent the nation's highest number for that period since 2004.
