SAN ANTONIO - The West Nile virus epidemic in Texas has not yet peaked, although it's likely to wind down sooner than in much of the rest of the country, the state's heath commissioner said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a government scientist offered a bit of good news to those in the path of Tropical Storm Isaac, saying history has shown that hurricanes and floods don't typically cause a spike in mosquito-borne infections such as West Nile.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday that 894 Texas cases had been reported so far this year.
Two cases were reported Wednesday to have ended in death, one each in Dallas and Panola counties, bringing the state total to 35.
Three Houston residents have died from the virus this year.
"Assuming normal disease progression, this looks to us like it's going to be our worst year with West Nile," said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, in a conference call with reporters.
"At this time as I look at the data, I'm not convinced we've peaked."
Dallas area hard hit
At least 21 of the 35 reported Texas deaths were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with 13 in Dallas County.
The most recent Dallas County death was reported Wednesday in Rowlett in northeastern Dallas County.
Lakey said crews had wrapped up six days of aerial spraying for mosquitoes in Dallas County - the epicenter of the outbreak - where 437,500 acres were treated twice.
Those airplanes were now being moved a few miles north to Denton County, which for its much smaller population has been as hard-hit as anywhere with 108 cases and two deaths.
Texas still has about half of all reported U.S. cases - which have risen 40 percent since last week, said Dr. Lyle PeterÂsen, director of vector-borne infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The 1,590 cases reported thus far in 2012 is the highest number of cases of West Nile virus disease cases reported to CDC ... since West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in 1999," Petersen said.
Increase had to figure
Every state except Alaska and Hawaii has confirmed the presence of West Nile either in people, birds or mosquitoes, and 43 states have had at least one human case.
Petersen said it may never be clear why West Nile roared back this year after a relative lull. While the unusually hot summer may have played a role, other, more complicated factors are also involved - such as the number of birds resistant to the infection. Those birds transmit the virus to mosquitoes, which in turn infect humans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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