{"id":1011978,"date":"2026-08-20T02:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T02:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1011978\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T02:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T02:46:17","slug":"first-2026-case-of-dangerous-west-nile-virus-detected-in-nyc-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1011978\/","title":{"rendered":"First 2026 case of dangerous West Nile virus detected in NYC: officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A New Yorker has contracted the potentially dangerous West Nile virus \u2014 the first reported human case in the city this year, health officials revealed Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The unidentified city dweller fell ill with the mosquito-borne disease after spending time outdoors around the city, and in several locations outside the Big Apple, health department officials said.<\/p>\n<p>New York City\u2019s first case of West Nile virus in 2026 has officially been detected, the health department confirmed. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n<p>A transmission electron micrograph shows West Nile virus particles (teal) replicating within the cytoplasm of an infected VERO E6 cell. BSIP\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The diagnosis comes as 222 human cases of West Nile virus nationally have been reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, largely in Arizona, California and Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been detected in all five boroughs since June \u2013 and, alarmingly, within<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/06\/us-news\/number-of-nyc-mosquito-pools-testing-positive-for-dangerous-west-nile-virus-has-doubled-since-last-year-health-officials\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"> nearly twice as many samples<\/a> as last summer, officials have said.<\/p>\n<p>A Culex pipien mosquito specimen \u2014 the type of mosquito that carries the West Nile virus. TNS<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good news is it\u2019s preventable,\u201d said Alister Martin, the city\u2019s health commissioner, in a statement. \u201cWith mosquito season in full swing, we\u2019re encouraging New Yorkers to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of mosquito bites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe steps to protect yourself are simple: wear insect repellent, cover up during dawn and dusk, and get rid of standing water around your home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The West Nile virus first arrived in New York City during 1999 \u2013 and has since infected dozens of people every year.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, 18 human cases of West Nile illness were reported in the city, health department records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An average of 31 people every year fall ill with West Nile within New York City, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Most people infected by the disease never experience symptoms, but roughly one in five are unlucky enough to develop a mild illness that can include fever, rash, headache, body ache, nausea and vomiting.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly one in every 150 people can develop West Nile neuroinvasive disease, a serious and potential brain and spinal cord illness, officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A New Yorker has contracted the potentially dangerous West Nile virus \u2014 the first reported human case in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1011979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[210,5248,403,881,67,132,68,1154,13203],"class_list":["post-1011978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-metro","tag-new-york-city","tag-public-health","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-virus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117125551687894315","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1011979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1011978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1011978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}