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The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that a woman from Nebraska had died of West Nile virus. This is the first case of West Nile in Nebraska this year.
10/11 NOW is waiting for a response from the DHHS at the place of death. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department confirmed that Lancaster County had not had West Nile virus cases this season.
The woman is between 25 and 50 years old. She was suffering from an underlying health problem, which made a person more likely to suffer serious consequences.
DHHS said the woman had started to feel the symptoms of West Nile very early, outside of the usual West Nile season. State epidemiologists said that it was an unusual case and that it seemed like an anomaly.
"If we look at the possible explanations, our epidemiologists have stated that it was possible for a mosquito to overwinter, and that it will appear very early and infective." They say it is also possible that an emerging mosquito would feed on an infected bird that was in the area and the mosquito might then have bitten the person, "said a DHHS spokesman.
The DHHS collected and tested the mosquitoes in this surrounding area and stated that none had been found to be positive for West Nile. The DHHS has not yet seen any positive mosquito fleets in the state this season.
Epidemiologists believe that it is likely an isolated event.
In 2018, Nebraska reported 245 cases of West Nile infection in humans, of which 11 died, a record in the country.
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