Health officials around the country are reporting cases and positive samples of the West Nile virus. In Iowa, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that the first case of West Nile virus infection was reported this year in an older adult — age 61-80 years — from Plymouth County.
According to Fox News, The case was confirmed through a test at the State Hygienic Lab. “Warm summer weather means Iowans are spending more time outside, which increases the risk of mosquito bites. Bites from infected mosquitos are the primary method in which humans are infected with the virus,” the department said.
In the first week of June, Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services said its first human case had been found in the Three Rivers Public Health District and that the individual had not been hospitalized.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed there were 13 cases this year across the U.S. as of June 13. Those cases were reported in Oregon, Arizona, Wyoming, Nebraska, Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Of those, four were reported in the Copper State. The agency showed more than 1,125 human disease cases in 2022.
The Harris County Public Health Mosquito Vector Control Division confirmed that a mosquito sample had tested positive for the virus in the Texas county. The positive sample was collected from a mosquito trapping site in the southwest 77005 ZIP code.
In response, the division would activate evening spray operations where the sample was found and in surrounding areas beginning Friday night.
