Real estate broker dies of West Nile

A California real estate broker on Saturday became the second person in the state to die from the West Nile virus, according to news reports.

Seventy-five-year-old Morris Sternberg of Grand Terrace died at Redlands Community Hospital from complications caused by the virus, San Bernardino County Deputy Coroner Randy Emon said.

Sternberg was admitted to Redlands Community Hospital on July 18 and diagnosed with hypoxemia, dehydration and sepsis, according to the County Coroner's Web site. Tests later confirmed he was infected with the West Nile Virus.

The San Bernardino Coroner's Department, in conjunction with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, is investigating the matter.

Sternberg owned rental homes and duplexes in Grand Terrace. His wife Phyllis told the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper he liked to take naps on the front porch and may have been bitten by a virus-carrying insect there.

According to health officials, the West Nile virus is spread to humans through infected mosquitoes.

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