Third Suffolk resident tests positive for West Nile virus, county says

A third Suffolk County resident has tested positive for the West Nile virus this year, the Suffolk health department announced late Friday afternoon.

The person, whose gender was not identified, became sick in mid-September, was hospitalized and is recovering at home, department officials said in a news release. The Town of Babylon resident, who is described as under age 50, has underlying medical conditions, the department said.

The department previously reported two other West Nile cases this year: a Huntington Town resident over age 50 who got sick in August, and a Brookhaven Town resident under 50 whose case was publicly announced Wednesday, became ill in early September, and who is recovering at a rehabilitation facility.

Nassau County has had four West Nile cases this year, two in August and two in September, Nassau health department spokeswoman Mary Ellen Laurain said.

In a statement released Friday that also was released following the announcement of the previous Suffolk cases, the county's health commissioner, Dr. Gregson 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."

The virus is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Most people don’t develop symptoms, and many others only have mild symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe symptoms include high fever, disorientation, tremors, muscle weakness and paralysis.

Those at highest risk for severe infection include people over 50, those with chronic illnesses and people with compromised immune systems.

There were five human cases in Suffolk in 2020, three in 2019 and 11 in 2018. Two people in Suffolk died from the virus in 2017, and three died in 2010.

Suffolk residents can report mosquito problems or stagnant pools of water — where mosquitoes can breed — by calling the county Department of Public Works’ Vector Control Division at 631-852-4270.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.