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Middlesex Man Infected With West Nile Virus

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Oct 9, 2007 12:50 pm US/Eastern

Middlesex Man Infected With West Nile Virus

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ― An 88-year-old Middlesex County man is the first human infected by West Nile virus in New Jersey this year, the state Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday.

The man has been hospitalized with the potentially fatal disease since Sept. 3 with encephalitis and an altered mental state, the department said. Test results Sept. 25 suggested the virus, and the department's own lab later confirmed the finding.

Human West Nile virus cases in the Garden State have been on the decline since peaking at 34 in 2003. There were five cases reported in Bergen, Essex, Union and Middlesex counties last year.

The virus is transmitted to humans or horses through bites from mosquitoes that got the virus from infected birds.

In most humans, it causes flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all. In some cases, particularly among people 50 and older, the virus can cause neurological diseases such as encephalitis or meningitis.

Health authorities urged people to use mosquito repellent, get rid of standing water and make sure screens are intact to avoid infection.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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