LOGAN — The Bear River Health Department said Friday it has confirmed two cases of West Nile virus in humans in Cache County.
The announcement closely follows one from the Salt Lake County Health Department on Thursday that said an adult was diagnosed with neuroinvasive West Nile virus, a more severe form of the disease. That individual was hospitalized with the condition earlier this month, the health department said, but is now recovering at home.
It said this person was likely infected in the southern half of the county in July, near the Jordan River.
West Nile virus is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes, and both health departments urged people to protect themselves from mosquito bites to prevent contracting the disease.
The Salt Lake County Health Department said Thursday that 108 mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus this year across the state, and because mosquitoes can travel several miles, everyone near any of those areas should take precautions.
Last week’s report from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services said mosquitoes have been found with West Nile virus in the Bear River Health District, Davis County, Salt Lake County, TriCounty (Uintah, Dagget and Duchesne) and in Utah County.
It reported that the percentage of mosquito pools testing positive at this point in the year, 1.53%, is higher than the last two years — 1.41% in 2024 and 0.99% in 2023.
Last year, the Utah health department reported 14 cases of West Nile virus, 12 of which were the neuroinvasive form. It reported one Utahn died from the disease in 2023.
Symptoms of West Nile virus, which appear between two and 14 days after a bite, include fever, headache, rash, vomiting, body aches and diarrhea. More severe cases can lead to neurological problems.
The Salt Lake County Health Department said many who become infected may not even know; between 20% and 30% of infected people will not have symptoms and others will have only minor symptoms. It is estimated that less than 1% of people with West Nile virus develop the neuroinvasive form, which can lead to debilitating complications or death.
Because of this, there are likely many more than three Utahns who have been infected this year.
The Bear River Health Department suggested protection through “the 5 Ds”: Drain standing water, avoid outdoor activities at dawn and dusk, use bug spray with DEET, dress in loose, long clothing and ensure door and window screens are repaired.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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