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State health authorities have confirmed West Nile virus in a fifth delawarean.(Photo: David McNew / Getty Images)

State health officials have confirmed the West Nile's presence in another Delawarean, making it the fifth case this summer.

This is the highest number of West Nile cases in the last three years. Last week, the state announced its third case of illness.

Authorities fear that other infections will occur as the mosquito season has not yet reached its peak and humans are catching the virus from a mosquito bite.

While the Public Health Division confirmed the fifth case, it is still waiting for confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials said.

In 2017, the first case of West Nile virus in two years was confirmed in a woman from Kent County. The worst year that health officials could recall was 2012, when the virus was diagnosed in nine Delawareans.

the other cases in 2018 involved four former Delawareans. Three are from New Castle County and one from Sussex.

Symptoms in humans include headache, body aches, rash on the chest or back, and swollen lymph nodes, health officials said. Those who experience these symptoms should consult their doctor immediately.

The virus, which can be fatal, is particularly difficult in the elderly and whose immune system is weakened. About 80% of those infected with the virus will not get sick. Less than 20% of those infected will develop West Nile fever with mild symptoms. One in every 150 infected people will develop a serious infection that may include meningitis.

There are no human vaccines, but there are vaccines for horses.

The only way for a person to get West Nile virus is to get bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, officials said. Older people with weakened immune systems tend to suffer the most severe consequences of the virus.

Health officials urge people to apply an EPA approved insect repellent every time they come out and cover their arms and legs.

This summer, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has seen an increase in the virus in wild birds and sentinel chickens, officials said. The large amount of rain that Delaware experienced in the spring and summer resulted in an increase in mosquito activity.

This month, the Mosquito Section has discovered the first positive Eastern Equine Encephalitis sentinel chicken at a station in Sussex County.

Equine encephalitis is more serious and rarer than West Nile virus, health officials said. The viruses are usually transmitted by mosquitoes in summer and in the fall, the high season spreading from mid-August to mid-October.

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or [email protected] and on Twitter @MereNewman.

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