4th West Nile Virus Case Reported In Suffolk County

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, NY — A fourth person in Suffolk County has tested positive for West Nile virus this season, Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Services Dr. Gregson Pigott said.

The person is over 50 years old and is from the Town of Huntington, according to the county. The person's specific town of address was not released. The person was not hospitalized and has recovered from the disease.

Of the three additional cases of West Nile virus reported in Suffolk, one other person was a Town of Huntington resident older than 50, and the two others were under 50 residents of the towns of Brookhaven and Babylon.

West Nile virus is transmitted to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. It is estimated that 20 percent of those who become infected will develop clinically noticeable symptoms of West Nile virus disease. Mild symptoms may include fever, headache and body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.

West Nile virus can be fatal. Residents who experience symptoms are advised to visit their healthcare providers. While there is no specific treatment for West Nile virus, patients may be offered supportive therapy as needed.

People who are most at risk for severe infection include those over 50 years of age and those with chronic illness or compromised immune systems. Suffolk County residents are urged to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes during mosquito season, which extends from June 1 through Nov. 1.

To avoid mosquito bites, use insect repellent containing DEET, spray clothing with repellent containing permethrin, avoid going outside from dusk to dawn when most mosquitoes are active, wear long sleeves and long pants when nighttime activity is unavoidable, eliminate standing water from flowerpots, clogged gutters, recycle bins, birdbaths, toys, swimming pool and hot tub covers, Pigott said.

The number of human cases of West Nile virus varies each year. Suffolk County reported five human cases in 2020, three in 2019, and 11 in 2018. The county reported 25 human cases in 2010, a year in which the virus claimed three lives. Suffolk also reported two deaths from West Nile virus in 2017.

"There is no discernible trend," Pigott said. "We know only about the cases in which the patient sought treatment and we received laboratory confirmation of West Nile virus. There may be many more residents who acquired West Nile virus, but we never learned about them because they didn’t seek medical attention or they sought attention but lab tests weren’t ordered."

For information about West Nile virus, residents can visit the Suffolk County Department of Health Services’ website.

To report mosquito problems or stagnant pools of water, call the Department of Public Works’ Vector Control Division at 631-852-4270.