First human West Nile virus case of 2025 for Illinois reported

The year’s first human case of West Nile virus for 2025 in Illinois has been detected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a person downstate, specifically in Southern Illinois, was hospitalized due to complications from West Nile.

This marks the earliest a West Nile case has been confirmed in Illinois since 2016.

Last year, there were 69 confirmed human cases of West Nile in Illinois, including three deaths.

The worst West Nile outbreak in the U.S. to date came in 2002. That year in Illinois alone, there were 884 cases across the state, and 67 deaths, with 42 of them in Cook County.

When it comes to the West Nile virus, the Illinois Department of Public Health stresses the three R’s — reduce your exposure, repel using insect repellent, and report any standing water seen longer than a week, which can breed the virus.    

The public is advised to wearing loose-fitting clothing, and, if possible, avoid peak mosquito feeding times, typically around dusk and dawn. 

Severe illness from the West Nile virus can occur in about one in 150 people and is most likely to occur in people over age 55 or with weakened immune systems.