Iowa apparently has its second fatal case of the West Nile Virus. The public health department says it’s confirmed 34 cases of the mosquito-borne disease in humans. Now health officials confirm a second person has died of West Nile, an elderly man. While state officials aren’t yet saying, the Des Moines Register reports it’s confirmed he was 77-year-old Russel Adams of Churdan, who died at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames. While there have been 148 deaths nationwide, most people infected with West Nile get few or no symptoms at all. West Nile is only the latest strain of encephalitis among a handful that have been around a long time, and it has taken a higher toll among domestic and wild animals.
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