First case of West Nile virus registered

A Baltimore-area adult is the first Marylander to test positive for West Nile virus in 2024.

The patient has recovered, the state health ministry said in a press release on Monday.

“We are in the season when West Nile virus can spread in Maryland,” said Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, assistant secretary of health, in the release. “We urge people to be vigilant and take steps to avoid infection and eliminate standing pools of water where mosquitoes can breed.”

Last year, the state recorded seven cases of the virus, which is transmitted from birds to mosquitoes and then to humans, the agency said. In 2023, the state's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus occurred in mid-September and involved an adult living on the East Coast.

The disease affects the nervous system. Up to 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms, and people over 50 or with pre-existing conditions can become seriously ill, according to the ministry.

In 2023, the Center for Disease Control recorded over 2,500 cases of the virus nationwide. So far this year, there are 216.

According to the department, symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, rash and swollen lymph nodes.

Over the weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said through a spokesman that he had been hospitalized with the virus, presumably due to a mosquito bite in his yard, according to the Associated Press.

Originally published: August 26, 2024 at 20:24