WASHINGTON — A 94-year-old woman from Laurel has died of West Nile virus, the woman’s daughters tell city officials.
The passing of Dorothy Mount is Maryland’s second West Nile death this year, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Japonette Mount says her mother died at the Baltimore VA Medical Center on Sept. 8. A hospital representative called the family to tell them their mother died from the West Nile virus.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Chris Garrett, a spokesman from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said he could not confirm whether Dorothy Mount died from West Nile because he had not received notification of her cause of death.
The West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes. It’s unclear where Dorothy Mount became infected, the city said in a news release.
Mosquito control experts are expected to collect insect samples from around the Mount’s family home to determine if any of the mosquitoes are infected and then proceed with the appropriate eradication efforts.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture says her neighborhood, in the 1000 block of 8th Street in Laurel, was sprayed twice in August for mosquitoes abatement. State trucks have sprayed various parts of Laurel seven times since the program began earlier this summer, the city said in a news release.
On Tuesday, state officials confirmed the West Nile death of a Baltimore County man Sept. 8 — the same day Dorothy Mount died.
