MILFORD–A person has been diagnosed with West Nile Virus in Connecticut, marking the first human case this year.
The patient lives in Milford and is between 70 and 79 years old. The patient became sick within the past week, and is still hospitalized.
The patient has not traveled out of Connecticut.
West Nile has been identified in mosquitoes in several towns across the state so far this year, including Bridgeport, East Haven, Hartford, Newington, Stamford, Stratford, West Haven and West Hartford.
“We continue to have weather conditions that are favorable for the mosquitoes that transmit West Nile Virus,” said Dr. Philip Armstrong, medical entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment station. “These mosquitoes are most abundant in urban and suburban areas with dense human populations. West Nile virus positive mosquitoes were identified in Milford on August 15.”
Last year, 10 patients were diagnosed with the virus in the state.
“The identification of a Connecticut resident with West Nile virus associated illness that required hospitalization underscores the potential seriousness of infection,” said Dr. Raul Pino, commissioner of the Department of Public Health.
