New Orleans ? The death toll from the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in U.S. history climbed to seven Friday as state health officials said two more victims had died in parishes north of New Orleans.

The latest victims were identified as a 76-year-old woman in St. Tammany Parish and a 94-year-old woman in Tangipahoa Parish. Both parishes are across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans and are where many earlier cases occurred.

Health officials said another 14 human cases have been confirmed, raising the state’s total to 85.

The outbreak in Louisiana is the deadliest since the virus killed seven people and hospitalized 55 others in the New York area in 1999, when the disease was first detected in this country.

All West Nile deaths this year have been in Louisiana, but Mississippi officials were awaiting test results to confirm whether a death there was due to the virus.