The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services today reported the season’s first three human cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) in a 68 year-old female from Ocean County, a 78 year-old female from Essex County and an 86 year-old male from Passaic County.

 “Late summer and early fall are typically when we begin seeing cases of WNV appear in New Jersey,” said Doctor Poonam Alaigh, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services.  “It is important for everyone to remember to protect themselves from mosquito bites throughout the fall season.” 

Residents should be sure to survey their property and remove any items that can collect rain or sprinkler water.  Items such as clogged gutters, flowerpots and old tires are prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

People should also apply insect repellant to their clothing and exposed skin in accordance with labeling directions, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants (weather permitting) outdoors, and limit outdoor activities at dawn, dusk and during evening hours.

• In 2009, three people were diagnosed with WNV in New Jersey. 

• In 2003, 34 New Jersey residents tested positive for WNV, the peak number of cases reported in New Jersey for a single year.

WNV is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.  WNV is not directly transmitted from birds to humans or from human to human.