Colorado sees first human case of West Nile Virus this year

A Colorado resident has been hospitalized with the most serious form of the West Nile Virus.

The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment says it is the first human case of the virus this year in Colorado.

The agency says an adult resident of the town of Mead fell ill on July 27 and was hospitalized the next day. Tests confirmed that the person had the neuro-invasive form of the virus.

Less than 1 percent of infected people develop the sometimes fatal neuro-invasive illness.

Weld County Health Department Executive Director Mark Wallace says the combination of wet and increasingly hot weather in the area has created the perfect conditions for the type of mosquito that carries West Nile Virus.