Texas health department officials are keeping a close watch on a possible case of West Nile Virus in Starr County.
Area director Dr. Brian Smith said the patient has been tested for Dengue fever and West Nile.
It could be several days before getting lab results back on the possible Starr County case, but he said state wide there's been 676 confirmed cases and officials predict 2012 will be the year of most West Nile deaths.
Smith says after someone is bit by a mosquito, it could take anywhere from three to 14 days for the first sign of the virus- an unexplained fever.
He added that children and the elderly are more vulnerable to the virus.
Out of nearly 700 confirmed West Nile virus cases, there have been 27 deaths mostly in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The closest case to the valley was a case in Corpus Christi.
Health officials have confirmed that another North Texas resident has died from West Nile Fever.
The death toll in the Dallas Fort Worth area is at 19.
The Denton County woman was in her 80’s and died on Friday.
She was the 19th West Nile Death reported in the largely suburban county.
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