Nassau reports 2nd person with West Nile virus

A second human case of West Nile virus has been confirmed in Nassau County, health officials said Friday.

A man older than 50 from the Town of Hempstead experienced the onset of symptoms Aug. 13, was hospitalized and is now recovering at home, said Mary Ellen Laurain, communications director for the Nassau County Department of Health.

The first case was that of a woman older than 60 from the Town of Oyster Bay, whose symptoms started Aug. 8. She too was hospitalized and was later recovering at home, Laurain said.

To date, there have been no confirmed human cases in Suffolk County, according to health officials.

Some mosquito bites can transmit West Nile to humans, with mosquitoes picking up the virus by feeding on infected birds.

Nassau has reported 32 mosquito samples this year that have tested positive for the virus, and Suffolk, 158.

Nationally, last year ranked as the second-worst in terms of West Nile cases since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Nassau and Suffolk counties reported 14 human cases each last year, including one Nassau death.