The Centers for Disease Control says as of October 2nd, 163 people in the United States have died from the West Nile Virus.  

Officials with the CDC say nearly 4-thousand cases of the West Nile Virus have been reported in 2012. It is the largest number reported by the first week in October since 2003.  

Investigators say almost 70% of the cases were reported from 8 states Texas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Michigan, Oklahoma and Illinois. A third of them from from Texas.  

Researchers say 51% of the cases were classified as neuroinvasive such as meningitis or encephalitis while 49-percent were classified as non-neuroinvasive.