The Health Department says a 61-year-old Bronx man was the first city resident to contract the virus this season and was hospitalized. It says the man also had meningitis. Two Staten Island women, a 74-year-old and a 46-year-old, also contracted the virus. Both were hospitalized.
Last month, a 66-year-old woman from Long Island was identified as the state's first confirmed case of West Nile virus this year.
She became ill on July 5, and was recovering at home.
West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes that often pick up the virus from birds they bite. Symptoms include neck stiffness, disorientation, coma and paralysis.
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Some people experience only mild flu-like symptoms after contracting West Nile virus, but the infection can cause meningitis or encephalitis, which can result in a potentially fatal inflammation of the brain or spinal cord.
Reducing Exposure to Mosquitoes
If you think you have symptoms of West Nile virus, see your doctor right away. The most common symptoms are headache, fever and extreme fatigue. For more information about West Nile virus, and how to avoid it, visit the Health Department website at www.nyc.gov/health or call 311.
Information on West Nile virus surveillance is available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wnv/wnvrrs.shtml/a>.
