Idaho has its first human case of West Nile Virus for 2015. A woman in her 60’s who lives in Washington County got sick in late June.
Raemi Nolevanko is an epidemiologist for Southwest District Health. She says the woman had mild symptoms and did not go to the hospital.
“She was experiencing some pretty decent fatigue and then she mentioned fever, chills and some headache that she was having issues with,” says Nolevanko.
The woman is recovering.
Nolevanko says this first human case is right on schedule, based on last year's timeline.
“All of the seven cases reported in our health district were reported in August and September," Nolevanko says. "So we’re getting right to that point where we’re going to see those cases probably begin to be reported.”
Nolevanko says, statewide, 19 people came down with the illness in 2014. In 2006, almost 1,000 Idahoans caught West Nile from mosquitoes and 23 died.
So far this year, nine Idaho counties have found mosquitoes with the virus and one horse has come down with West Nile.
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