JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi State Department of Health reports one new human case of West Nile virus, bringing the 2016 state total to 20. The new case is in Lincoln County.
So far this year, human cases of West Nile have been reported in Calhoun, Chickasaw, Copiah (2), Hinds (6), Grenada, Lamar (2), Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Marion, Perry and Rankin counties. There has been one West Nile death reported in a Hinds County resident.
In 2015, Mississippi had 38 cases and one death.
Symptoms of West Nile virus infection are often mild and may include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, a rash, muscle weakness or swollen lymph nodes. In a small number of cases, infection can result in encephalitis or meningitis, which can lead to paralysis, coma and possibly death.
PHOTO: (2002 File Photo) A Mississippi Department of Health employee holds one of the Culex mosquito species which has been identified as the primary carrier of the West Nile virus in the South, Friday, Aug. 9, 2002, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis)
