Josephine County man tests positive for West Nile virus

GRANTS PASS, ORE. — The Josephine County Public Health Department is reporting the first human case of West Nile Virus in the county.

They say a 65 year old man tested positive this week, but it’s still not clear where and how the man contracted the virus.

Jackson County health officials say most who contract the disease don’t show the symptoms.

Dr. Jim Shames, medical director for Jackson County Health says, “One in five people who get West Nile virus, know they have something. And of those individuals, there’s a fever and a headache, and malaise, kind of like the flu.”

Meanwhile, OSU Diagnostic Laboratory in Corvallis confirmed a new positive mosquito pool from north Medford.

The last known human case of the virus in Jackson County was in 2005.

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