Yavapai County health officials have confirmed the first local case of West Nile virus since 2012.
According to county epidemiologists, 70% of the mosquitoes they’ve trapped have been in flood waters from this year’s monsoon storms, but they’re not known to transmit disease.
The county urges people to avoid mosquito bites by wearing bug repellant, draining standing water on their property and installing or repairing screens on windows and doors.
Statewide, 10 people have died this month from West Nile. A majority of confirmed cases have been in Maricopa County with several in Pima and Pinal counties.
The mosquito-borne illness affects the central nervous system and symptoms include fever, head and body aches and muscle weakness. West Nile season in Arizona usually lasts through the end of October.
