State officials have confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in Illinois this year. The Illinois Department of Public Health said Monday that a teen-ager in west-central Illinois became ill with West Nile virus late last month.
Public Health Director Nirav Shah say that first human case comes much earlier than usual. Last year's first human case of West Nile in Illinois didn’t come until August. Shah says that’s a reminder for people to guard against mosquito bites now, and not wait until hot weather comes later in the summer.
West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of the house mosquito, which picks it up from infected birds. Most people with the virus show no symptoms at all, but in rare cases, it can lead to meningitis or encephalitis, or even death.
Public Health officials reported 77 human cases of West Nile virus in Illinois last year, nine of them fatal, and say many cases are never reported.