State's Second West Nile Virus Death Is Elderly Laurel Woman: Report

A 94-year-old Laurel woman is the second Maryland resident to die from the West Nile Virus, according to her family.

The city of Laurel said in a release from the victim’s two daughters that Dorothy Mount died Sept. 8 at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Japonette Mount says a VA Medical Center representative called the family to tell them their mother died from the mosquito-borne virus.

So far this season, 29 people have been infected with the virus in Maryland, according to WBAL, which said that insects have tested positive for West Nile in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The first West Nile casualty of this season was an older man who lived in Baltimore County, state officials said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told Laurel officials Wednesday afternoon he could not confirm whether Dorothy Mount died from the West Nile virus because he had not received notification of her cause of death.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture says Mount’s neighborhood, the 1000 block of Eighth Street in Laurel, was sprayed for mosquitoes on Aug. 9 and again on Aug. 30.

MDA trucks have sprayed various parts of Laurel seven times since the program began earlier this summer.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene confirmed the virus on Aug. 5 in mosquitos in Bowie, the city says. Spraying to control mosquitoes happened the following night.

Mosquito control experts will collect insect samples from around the Mount family home to determine if any of the mosquitoes are infected, officials said, and then proceed with eradication efforts.

There is no confirmation of where the Laurel victim became infected.

Symptoms of West Nile Virus will usually show up within 14 days following the bite of an infected mosquito. They include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Body aches
• Fatigue
• Back pain
• Skin rash (occasionally)
• Swollen lymph glands (occasionally)
• Eye pain (occasionally)

Residents are urged to take steps to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds on their property including but not limited to:

• Emptying kiddie pools
• Changing pet water daily
• Changing bird baths weekly
• Fixing leaking water faucets
• Eliminate depressions in your yard or landscaped areas

If you have to go outside at dawn or dusk, wear long, loose fitting clothing and use insect repellant.

MDA officials say the mosquito spraying program will continue through Sept. 22.