(KYTX) - Texas is the hardest hit state for West Nile Virus with 20 deaths tied to the illness.
Friday, the first fatal case in East Texas was confirmed in Gregg County.
Six human West Nile cases have been confirmed in Angelina County, five more in Gregg County, and Smith, Van Zandt, Henderson, Panola and Rusk Counties each have one confirmed human case.
The concern is growing on how to deal with the virus here in East Texas, but some new research looks to make the growing number of cases a problem of the past.
But don't get too excited yet; the vaccine has a long way to go, but as CNN's Adam Mertz reports, the early tests do look promising.
Inside the labs at the OU Health Sciences Center, researchers are making progress as they develop a vaccination that could save lives.
"They are very promising, so we think we have a good candidate vaccine," says Dr. James Papin.
Dr. Papin and other OU researchers are able to isolate strains of the West Nile virus. They then use a chemical which inactivates it -- basically rendering the virus harmless.
"We know that we can do it, and we know through lab models that it can actually looks like it can protect against infection," says Papin.
"It looks very promising, and obviously, it could be very beneficial if it were developed," says Dr. Robert Floyd.
Dr. Floyd with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation originally developed the technique now being used to find a vaccine. The researchers use a wavelength of light and the chemical methlyene blue.
Dr. Floyd used this same combination when he conducted aids research in the 1990s.
"The way that this drug interacts with the virus and in the presence of light, it kills the virus," says Floyd.
Researchers are now in the process of developing the actual vaccine, which would then be followed by years of testing before it ever hit the market.
Of course, funding is always an issue, but with the recent spike in West Nile cases, OU is hoping the development of this vaccination will be a top priority.
"Now that we see this pattern emerging, there is going to be more interest in developing a vaccine in order to keep the disease out of the human population," says Papin.
Another West Nile vaccine is already going through clinical trials.
Researchers at Oklahoma University hope to develop one that is just as effective and cheaper to produce.
