Montgomery County officials: West Nile virus contributing factor in 80-year-old's death

HOUSTON -- Montgomery County health officials say an 80-year-old male with the West Nile virus has died. Officials say the virus was a contributing factor in his death, but not the primary cause.

Health officials won't say what else the 80-year-old was battling or when he died, only that they were notified of the situation by the state today. It's the first reported human death linked to the virus this summer.

Another case of the West Nile virus also was confirmed in the county. That person is a female in her 40's and she's in stable condition.

"Both were residents of South Montgomery County. The Public Health District is urging Montgomery County residents to use insect repellent with DEET every time they go outside, wear long sleeves at dawn and dusk and make sure screens are on all windows and doors to keep mosquitoes from entering their home," said Jennifer Nichols-Contella, Public Health spokeswoman, in a prepared statement.

Montgomery County accounts for half of the 16 West Nile virus cases that have been confirmed in Texas this season.

The West Nile virus is passed by mosquitoes, but it's not the only mosquito-borne threat for the county. Last month, a teenage boy who traveled overseas contracted the Chikungunya virus, another illness spread by mosquitoes.