A Guilford County man has the state's first recorded case of West Nile virus this year, state health officials say.
Most people who are infected develop no disease symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the infection can cause anything from mild fever to, in rare cases, severe symptoms such as meningitis, polio-like paralysis and encephalitis, or brain infection. People older than 50 are most likely to develop severe symptoms.
The disease is spread by mosquitoes, not by person-to-person contact.
The unidentified patient apparently contracted the disease in August; his test results were confirmed in September by the N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health. He is reported to be recovering.
To try to limit spread of the disease, state health officials urge North Carolinians to use mosquito repellent and try to ensure that their property contains no places where mosquitoes can breed, such as birdbaths.
