Suffolk has 3rd human case of West Nile

The state Health Department has confirmed a third human case of West Nile virus in Suffolk County, and four additional cases are "being considered as probable," the county's health department said Monday.

Nassau County has reported six human cases so far this year, including an elderly resident from Oyster Bay who died. The others are recovering.

The latest confirmed case of West Nile in Suffolk involves a Town of Islip resident older than 55 who "was hospitalized in August with symptoms consistent with West Nile virus" and is "undergoing rehabilitation," the department said Monday in a news release.

The county's first two confirmed cases involved a Babylon Town resident under 55 and a Huntington resident older than 55 who "had been hospitalized and have since recovered," officials said. The county health department is awaiting results on the four additional cases that are considered probable.

Of the six cases in Nassau, four were in the Town of Oyster Bay, one in the Town of North Hempstead and one in the Town of Hempstead, officials said.

Following state Health Department guidance, officials say they do not release potentially identifying details, such as age and specific community, about people who contract the virus.

Seven more mosquito samples in Suffolk have tested positive for West Nile virus, bringing the total to 208, the county health department said Friday. The samples, collected Sept. 6 and 7, were from Amagansett, East Northport, Nesconset, Ridge, Manorville, Selden and Southold, health officials said.

Nassau County is reporting 79 mosquito samples testing positive for the virus.

People contract West Nile through the bite of an infected mosquito. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says West Nile symptoms include headache, body aches and fever. Some victims recover within days. Still, others can get more severe symptoms, including paralysis and disorientation.