SAN ANTONIO -- A Bexar County man is the first person in the county to die from the West Nile virus this year, the Health Department is reporting.
The 77-year-old retired military man died Friday at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Authorities there say he had been hospitalized for more than a week prior to his death.
There are also have been at least three cases of West Nile reported in Bexar County this summer. But officials with the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District say it is still rare for anyone to die in Bexar County after catching the virus.
"The unfortunate death we had in Bexar County was a person who was in that one percent group of susceptible people that if they were bitten would have these encephalitis-type conditions," said Dr. Vincent Nathan. "And he had all those symptoms and he eventually passed."
Texas has been at the epicenter of the outbreak, with 586 confirmed cases and 21 deaths, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Health officials in San Antonio said 13 sample pools have tested positive for the West Nile virus.
Crews will conduct hand-held fogging at Fort Sam Houston on Thursday and Friday to target areas of standing water.
