Health District reports 5 more human cases of West Nile Virus

Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) – On Wednesday, the Southern Nevada Health District reported that five more human cases of West Nile virus had been diagnosed in humans, bring the total number of human cases in 2024 to 7.

Three patients — a woman over 60, and two men under 50, were diagnosed with the neuroinvasive form of the illness. All three patients were hospitalized and are recovering. A man and woman, both under the age of 50, had the non-neuroinvasive form of the illness. Both patients have recovered.

SNHD has reported very heavy mosquito activity this year, with 267 mosquito pools (8,578 mosquitoes from 36 ZIP codes) testing positive for West Nile virus. Fifteen mosquito pools (447 mosquitoes from six ZIP codes) have tested positive for the virus that causes St. Louis encephalitis through the end of June

The Health District is urging people to “fight the bite” and do things like eliminate pools of standing water that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. They also recommend using EPA-recommended insect repellant, and to report mosquito activity to SNHD at 702-759-1633.

Health District Fight the Bite tips and resources are available here, or on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.