Mississippi reports 5 new West Nile virus cases, 41 total

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi State Department of Health says five new cases of West Nile virus have been reported.
Local news outlets reported on Monday new cases in Clarke, Hinds, Lauderdale, Monroe and Yazoo counties now bring Mississippi’s total to 41 this year. The mosquito-borne illness was reported on Aug. 21 to have caused two deaths that were in Forrest and Humphreys counties.
Hinds County, Mississippi’s most populous with nearly 250,000 residents, has the most reported cases in 2017 with eight. Report totals in other counties include six in Rankin, four in both Forrest and Madison, also two in both Humphreys and Lincoln. Other counties with one case reported are Bolivar, Clay, Covington, Jones, Leake, Leflore, Lowndes, Noxubee, Perry, Scott and Wilkinson.
Mississippi reported 43 total cases and two deaths in 2016.