#Shorts
Two people have died in New Jersey after contracting West Nile virus — marking the fourth and fifth deaths in the US this year from the mosquito-borne disease.
The state’s health department disclosed the deaths in a statement Friday.
Little is known about the victims, beyond that they’ve been identified as “older adults.”
One lived in Cumberland County while the other called Mercer County home.
The deaths come on the heels of two virus-related fatalities in Wisconsin, the state’s health department announced Thursday, and one in Illinois, health officials there reported Tuesday.
There have been a total of eight West Nile cases in New Jersey this year, leading to seven hospitalizations for encephalitis or meningitis.
Two of the individuals were diagnosed after tests showed the blood they had donated tested positive for the virus.
The six newest cases involve residents 50 and older from across the state — including Bergen, Passaic, Camden, Somerset, Hudson and Middlesex counties.
Two cases of West Nile were previously reported this year in Middlesex and Union counties.
