PROVIDENCE – The state Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first human case of West Nile Virus since 2003, a 65-year-old Providence man who is believed to have been exposed to an infected mosquito sometime between Aug. 14 and Aug. 26.
The man, who is recovering at home, is the eighth West Nile Virus patient in Rhode Island since monitoring began in 2000; one person died from the disease in 2003.
“With EEE and WNV now in the area, everyone, particularly the elderly, needs to take prevention measures extra seriously during mosquito season,” said Dr. David R. Gifford, the state health director. “Personal protection is still the best and most effective way to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses.”
All mosquito pools have tested negative for WNV and EEE this year, officials said. One horse stabled in Lincoln Woods State Park and euthanized in August tested positive for EEE. As of September 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 821 human WNV cases in 32 states, with 18 deaths, had occurred nationwide during 2005.
The state Department of Environmental Management has stepped up mosquito testing, but officials do not plan to recommend insecticide spraying or restrictions on outdoor activities.
For more information, go to www.health.ri.gov.
