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First Case Of West Nile Virus For The Year Detected In Ohio
By: Associated Press
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Health officials say a woman in northeast Ohio has been hospitalized with the state’s first case of the West Nile virus in 2013.
The Ohio Department of Health says the case is close to a month later than Ohio’s first reported case last year. Ohio recorded 121 cases of West Nile, with seven deaths in 2012.
Most people infected with the virus experience fever, headache, fatigue and body aches. More serious cases develop into diseases like encephalitis and meningitis, with symptoms including high fever, convulsions and paralysis.
The health department said Tuesday that the 72-year-old woman hospitalized in Cuyahoga County has meningitis.
The agency is urging Ohioans to use mosquito repellant and avoid the outdoors at dusk and dawn.