Mississippi
52 West Nile cases, 6 deaths in Mississippi; find out the best way to stay protected
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – According to Dr. Thomas Dobbs at UMMC, 2024 has been a substantial year for West Nile in Mississippi.
Even though August and September are considered the worst months for the mosquito-borne virus, doctors still want to remind the public of the best ways to protect yourself.
As of October 22nd, 2024, there are 52 reported West Nile cases, including six deaths in Mississippi, with 26 of those cases taking place in Madison, Rankin, and Hinds counties.
So how do you protect yourself?
Some of the best ways to stay protected are using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, avoiding standing water, and taking steps to control mosquitos at your home.
Dr. Dobbs believes more information needs to be readily available on prevention tactics and says prevention is your best choice, with there being no treatments available for more serious cases of West Nile.
“A lot of it really falls upon an individual to be vigilant, because even in locations where we’re doing mosquito control activities, it’s not going to be perfect. You can’t kill every mosquito, so getting the word out, education, knowing the simple steps to avoid West Nile infection is so critical,” said Dr. Dobbs.
He went on to say, “You know, we see that people’s lives are devastated. Some people are left, you know, paralyzed or severely neurologically impaired, or it kills people.”
One person whose life was changed by West Nile Virus is Sandra Jordan. She lives her life in a wheelchair after developing Neuroinvasive West Nile Poliomyelitis, which is a severe form of the virus that can cause paralysis.
She now speaks out on the dangers of the virus and other vector-borne diseases with her non-profit, The Bug Campaign.
Jordan looks to bring more education on these diseases with her non-profit and hopes to help prevent people from getting West Nile before it is too late.
“They are devastating diseases. They are not always devastating diseases, but I always tell people you can’t take the chance, and that’s why I try to advise people to really learn about what you can do to try to protect yourselves. They need to be taken seriously. I know that everyone’s sick of talking about Coronavirus and all the sicknesses, but this is something that is preventable to a large measure if you have the information, and that’s what I seek to do.”
You can find more information on about Jordan’s efforts with The Bug Campaign on their website at https://thebugcampaign.org/.
You can also ask questions directly to Jordan and make donations to the non-profit via email at buginfo@thebugcampaign.org.
More information on West Nile Virus prevention tips can be found at www.cdc.gov/west-nile-virus/prevention/.
You can also follow the number of cases in Mississippi at www.cdc.gov/west-nile-virus/data-maps/current-year-data.html.
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Copyright 2024 WLBT. All rights reserved.
OXFORD — Tomas Valincius struck out top Ole Miss baseball batter Tristan Bissetta looking on his last pitch of the game.
There was no emotion from the Mississippi State starting pitcher as he walked back to the dugout after Bissetta was the fourth straight Ole Miss batter to strike out.
It was another instance of Valincius, the left-handed Virginia transfer, showing a trait that’s made him such a dominant pitcher for the No. 4 Bulldogs. The longer Valincius pitches, the better he gets.
The sophomore pitched another five shutout innings as MSU (23-4, 5-2 SEC) took down No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1, at Swayze Field on March 28 to win the series.
“It’s all mental,” Valincius said. “Just going out there and just kind of trusting yourself and all the work you put in throughout the week. And even when you don’t have your stuff, it’s still a war between every battle in every inning. It’s kind of like finding a way to do what you can do with what you got.”
The win clinched the Bulldogs’ ninth series against the Rebels (19-9, 3-5) in the last 10 meetings. Another win March 29 (3 p.m., SEC Network) would make Brian O’Connor the third straight first-year MSU coach to sweep Ole Miss.
Valincius (6-0) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 SEC innings and his season ERA dropped to 0.91.
Against the Rebels, one game after striking out a career-high 14 batters against Vanderbilt, Valincius recorded nine strikeouts with three hits, two walks and one hit by pitch in 90 pitches.
“He buckled down when runners were in scoring position,” O’Connor said. “He’s always best in his middle innings. You see him just rise his game up.”
Why Tomas Valincius could’ve done even better against Ole Miss
While the Ole Miss game was Valincius’ third SEC start without allowing an earned run, it was his shortest outing of the three. The other two against Arkansas and Vanderbilt both lasted seven innings.
Valincius stranded six Ole Miss batters on base in his five innings.
“Early on, I didn’t really feel like I had anything going,” Valincius said. “I was kind of just finding a way to win. That was kind of my whole approach throughout the whole game. I couldn’t really figure out the slider and fastball command. It wasn’t working a lot. I just found a way to win.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.
Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.
There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.
The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.
The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.
Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.
“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”
A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.
“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”
The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.
Copyright 2026 WLOX via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.
“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.
Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.
“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.
Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality
It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.
“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.
“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.
More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.
“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.
Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.
“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.
“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.
More races are scheduled this weekend.
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Copyright 2026 WLOX. All rights reserved.
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