16 Suffolk residents test positive this summer for West Nile virus, most since 2010

Five more Suffolk County residents over the age of 50 have tested positive for West Nile virus, making this summer the second most infectious countywide since records began in 2000, health officials said Friday.

One of the infected individuals, an Islip resident, remained hospitalized late last week. The patient had been admitted with symptoms of West Nile in late August, Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said in a statement. A Smithtown resident who was hospitalized with symptoms of the virus in early September was recovering last week at a rehabilitation facility. A Brookhaven resident also hospitalized with the virus in early September was recovering at home, Suffolk County health officials said

Another pair of infected residents from Brookhaven experienced symptoms of West Nile, one in mid-August and the other in early September, but neither was hospitalized and both have since recovered, according to county health officials.

Since Aug. 7, 16 Suffolk County residents have tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus, the second highest number of human cases in a single year since the county began reporting cases in 2000, Pigott said Friday. The most cases were reported in 2010, when the county confirmed West Nile in 25 residents, three of whom died from it. Six of the cases were reported in Islip, seven in Brookhaven and one each in Babylon, Huntington and Smithtown. All but two infected residents were over the age of 50.

More than twice as many mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus in Suffolk County so far this year compared to last year, according to county and state health department data.

"As 2024 has been a year in which we have been reporting high numbers of positive mosquito samples and a larger than normal number [of] human cases of West Nile virus, we are urging residents to seek prompt medical attention if they experience fever, headache and body aches after recent mosquito bites," said Pigott. "We also remind medical providers to consider West Nile virus as a diagnosis."

Individuals who are most at risk for severe infection include those over 50 years of age and those with chronic illness or compromised immune systems, Suffolk health officials said. To avoid mosquito bites, all residents are urged to use insect repellent containing DEET, avoid going outside or wear long sleeves and pants outside from dusk to dawn and eliminate stagnant water sources.

In Nassau County, 15 residents have tested positive for West Nile this year so far, Nassau County Health Department spokeswoman Alyssa Zohrabian confirmed Friday afternoon.

Zohrabian previously told Newsday that Nassau health officials have observed "slightly above-average West Nile virus activity in mosquitoes" this summer and a "slight increase" in the mosquito population compared with last year.

Statewide, New York counted 56 positive cases of West Nile virus in humans, behind only Nebraska with 60 and Texas with 62, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As the summer winds down ... there may be mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus that are still biting," Pigott said. "It is not time to let your guard down until at least the middle of October, as cooler weather limits mosquito activity."