Elgin Man Second Illinois Death From West Nile Virus

The Kane County Health Department reported Illinois' second West Nile Virus death this year in Elgin in what the national Centers For Disease Control report is the worst outbreak of the disease since it first entered the U.s.

The unidentified 64-year-old Elgin man died last week, according to a Health Department news release.  The death was the first West Nile fatality ever in Kane County.  The victim was also the first human case of West Nile reported in the county this year.

In 2011, Kane County reported one human case and five cases in 2010. In 2009, an unusually mild summer there were no human cases found. There's been no human West Niles cases in McHenry County yet this year but 20 mosquito batches have tested positive, the most recent in Crystal Lake Friday. LITH remains the county hotspot, however, with 8 positive batches this year, the most recent two weeks ago.

The Illinois Department of Health reports 28 human cases of West Nile so far this year, almost as many as for all of 2011. The CDC now reports 1118 West Nile cases have been found in 47 states which have resulted in 41 deaths.  Health officials urge using insect repellents with DEET to discourage bites from culex mosquitoes which can carry the West Nile Virus.

In the pic:  Illinois isn't the worst place in the U.S. for West Nile but there are better ones, too.  Visited Utah, lately?