AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine health officials say an adult from Cumberland County has been diagnosed with West Nile virus, a disease transmitted through mosquito bites. But it's not clear whether the person was infected in Maine or somewhere else.
Officials with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention say the individual fell ill in early September after returning from a Mid-Atlantic state, and had traveled to several other states during the time the disease might have been contracted. The individual was hospitalized and is now recovering at home,
It's the second case of West Nile virus to be identified in a Maine resident. The last case occurred in 2012. Another worry for state health officials: Mosquitoes tested Friday in York County were found to be infected with the Eastern Equine Encephalitis - or EEE - virus, which can sometimes be fatal.
"The warm weather of the last few weeks has allowed mosquitoes to stay active," says state epidemiologist Dr. Siiri Bennett, in a statement. "Mainers should remember to take precautions against being bitten."
Those precautions include wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, using an EPA-approved insect repellent, taking extra precautions at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are more active, and making sure to drain any standing water from yard items that mosquitoes could breed in, state officials say.