At least 5 people have died, and 61 have been infected with West Nile virus in Arizona this year, according to CDC data. That is more cases than any other state in the country.

Federal officials call this the worst early-season surge in more than 20 years.

Maricopa County accounts for the vast majority of infections, with 47 cases and the state’s 5 deaths through the week of July 24, according to the county’s mosquito-borne diseases page.

At the same point last year, the county had reported 24 cases and 2 deaths.

Read more of this story from KTAR News here.

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