COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio has recorded its first two human cases of West Nile virus of 2014.
EXTRA: Columbus Public Health sprays for mosquitoes this week.
A 24-year-old woman in Muskingum County and a 78-year-old woman in Cuyahoga County have been hospitalized with encephalitis, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain caused when someone is bitten by an infected mosquito and is the most common way people get the West Nile virus.
The department has been testing mosquitoes from local health agencies since July 14.
So far, 120 samples have tested positive for the West Nile virus at the department’s lab and 10 additional positives have been reported by local health departments, says state epidemiologist Dr. Mary DiOrio.
DiOrio says relatively low infection rates this summer may be due to low temperatures and rainfall.