There’s startling information about the West Nile Virus in the Mid-South. A quarter of all deaths from the virus nationwide this year are in Shelby County.
Of the eight people who have died from West Nile this year in the United States, two deaths have been in Shelby County. And, of the 417 infected mosquitoes discovered in Tennessee, nearly 400 of them have been found in Shelby County.
The family of Robert Garland says the 88-year-old veteran died in early August. He spent ten days in the hospital while doctors determined what was making him sick. His family wants the public to know their story, hoping that Shelby County Vector control will beef up its efforts.
“I want everybody to know West Nile is in the area code of 38114. It killed my daddy,” said Sharon Thaxton, whose father died of West Nile Virus.
Thaxton says she is turning her grief into action after she learned of her father’s death.
“He was a beautiful husband, daddy, father,” Thaxton explained. “Before this happened, my daddy was a very healthy man. He took his vitamins every morning.”
The State Health Department reports almost 400 mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile in Shelby County.
Garland’s family says he spent most of his time outdoors.
“He worked on everybody’s things in the neighborhood. We had something that was broken and needed repair, everybody came to him. He sit out there and talk to you,” said Garland’s neighbor Lillie White. “Sometime he would be tired or something, he sit out and didn’t realize how many mosquitos out there.”
Garland was a father of three and married to his wife Faye Garland for 68 years.
“My husband was a church going man. He went to church. He doesn’t drink,” Garland explained.
Shelby County Vector Control is responsible for spraying insecticides every evening. There is a schedule on the Shelby County Health Department’s website that shows which zip code crews are working every day. (CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE.)
However, Garland’s family says they never saw a truck.
“The county is lying, they do not spray often. They spray one time. That was the first time we seen them when my daddy passed away, one time,” Thaxton said.
Shelby County health officials have not released the area code where the second West Nile virus death in Shelby County was located.
