The Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center reports that a 68-year-old male resident of Buffalo Grove (the Lake County side) tested positive for West Nile encephalitis. He was hospitalized and discharged. This is the county's first human West Nile virus case since 2010. 

In addition to the human case, 52 pools (batches) of mosquitoes and three birds have tested positive for West Nile virus in Lake County this year. Lake County is currently tracking ahead of its count for the year 2005, which had the highest number of positive mosquito pools and birds. That year, 167 mosquito pools, 12 birds, and 11 people tested positive for the illness and one death occurred. The Health Department is continuing to urge people to take precautions against mosquito bites.

"Protection against mosquito bites is very important right now," said Irene Pierce, the Health Department's Executive Director. "The risk for transmission of the virus is the highest it has been in years. You can protect yourself and your family by following the three R's - reduce your exposure to mosquitoes, repel them by wearing insect repellent, and report areas where mosquitoes typically breed."