(WWJ) A person in West Michigan has died from the West Nile virus.
The case in Kent County one of six human cases now publicly reported Michigan this year, across five counties, but is the first deadly case for 2025.
Cathy Armstrong, Disease Program Supervisor says this can be a tricky illness, as most people who contract West Nile show no symptoms.
"But what we're most concerned about are people — which less than 1% are included in this — they get what we call neuroinvasive symptoms, which are very severe symptoms that can cause lifelong problems or death," Armstrong said. "And they include things like confusion, memory loss, high fever, paralysis."
Armstrong told WWJ's Ryan Wrecker about 1 in 150 people develop severe illness, which shows up about a week after transmission.
This marks the first WNV-related death reported in Kent County since May of last year and follows recent detections of the virus in local mosquito samples, including one collected just 3,000 feet from where the individual lived.
Further details about the person who died, including their age and the city they live in, were not released.
Sara Simmonds, with the Environmental Health Division, said this deadly case is a reminder that mosquitoes become active in the springtime and remain active late in the summer and into the fall, and capable of spreading serious illness.
"We have had detections in mosquito pools as early as early June in previous years; that wasn't the case this year," Simmonds said. "So, we detect the presence in the mosquitoes, we know that they're carrying the disease in the community much earlier than we get human cases."
Since there is no vaccine, the best way to protect yourself from West Nile is to use insect repellent with DEET, wear long pants and sleeves while outdoors, and eliminate standing water around your property.
In 2024, Michigan health officials said four people died from WNV in the state.
Learn more about West Nile virus at this link.