SAN ANTONIO -- Health officials say a woman in her 80s is the latest Bexar County resident to become infected with the West Nile virus, bringing the county's total number of cases up to 10.
The San Antonio Metro Health Department said the case was reported late Wednesday.
There have been two West Nile-related deaths in Bexar County so far this year.
The first death was a 77-year-old veteran who died while getting treated for the virus at San Antonio Military Medical Center.
The second deadly case was a 78-year-old woman from San Antonio.
Meanwhile, in Brownsville officials have caught a second mosquito that tested positive for West Nile virus.
They are trapping the insects in an effort to help city crews determine which areas of the city to target.
Health officials say 2012 has been the worst year ever for West Nile in the state of Texas.
So far this year, there have been 2,000 reported cases of the virus, more than 1,000 cases have been reported in Texas alone. At last count, 43 people have died from the virus in Texas; 90 have died nationwide.
The CDC said new cases of West Nile spiked 25 percent over the past week. They foresee West Nile spreading until mid-October.
The most at risk are the elderly, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Many nursing homes in and around San Antonio have started taking preventative measures into their own hands when dealing with the West Nile virus.
Much like cities and school districts across the state, Morningside Ministries on San Antonio’s northwest side started treating areas with standing water pools in an effort to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
"Those areas that do have standing water we've treated those with chemicals. And those areas that are flower beds with moisture we've spread the appropriate insecticide as well," said Leo Cutcliff, executive vice president of Morningside Ministries.
Cutcliff says all three campuses in the Morningside Ministries family started treating problem areas for West Nile last week and will do so for weeks to come.
Other nursing care facilities KENS 5 spoke to say they have started their own treatment methods or have been in contact with state and local health officials getting guidance on how to prevent the spread of the virus on their grounds.
