Someone in Hamilton County has been infected with West Nile virus, the first in the area for 2026, according to Hamilton County Public Health.
Health officials confirmed the infection of a resident in the Symmes Township area on Sept. 17. That person was admitted to a local medical center.
While county officials are working to determine whether the infection was acquired locally, they say the infection was likely caused by a bite from a local mosquito infected with the virus. The risk of being bitten will continue until the first frost, likely through October.
People with mild cases of West Nile virus typically experience flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headaches, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. Seek immediate medical care
if you develop any of these symptoms.
Environmental health specialists from Hamilton County Public Health have performed surveillance near the infected person's home and treated standing bodies of water with larvicide to prevent more mosquitoes from breeding.
West Nile virus first was identified in Africa and the Middle East almost a century ago. It first appeared in the United States in 1999 and in Ohio in 2001. According to the Ohio Department of Health, an average of 47 cases a year are reported in the state, although larger outbreaks have occurred in 2002 and 2012.
To reduce the risk of spreading West Nile and other mosquito-borne diseases, drain standing water, including in pools, birdbaths, gutters and more. Use larvicide or "dunks" in standing water that can't be drained and avoid the outdoors during peak mosquito times at dusk and dawn.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: First case of human West Nile virus confirmed in Hamilton County
