Palm Beach Woman Recovering From West Nile Virus

WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) – While the calendar may say December, our temperatures are in the humid 80s during the day making it feel more summer-like than winter-like.

Summer-like heat can bring out summer pests. Palm Beach County health officials have warned residents to avoid being outdoors mosquitoes are most active after a woman bitten and contracted West Nile virus.

This is the first case of West Nile in the area in five years. But the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports it comes just two months after the county reported two unrelated cases of another mosquito-borne disease, dengue fever.

The unidentified woman was treated at the hospital and is now recovering at home. State health officials have so far reported 25 cases of West Nile. All but three were from an earlier outbreak in the Jacksonville area that led to two deaths.

Most human cases of the disease are mild. Severe symptoms include a high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma or convulsions.

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