New York City has its first human case of West Nile virus of 2026, according to health officials.
The individual lives within the five boroughs and contracted the virus after spending time outdoors at several locations outside the city, NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shared Wednesday.
West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes in all five boroughs since the start of June. That is consistent with every other year.
The Health Department said it has increased mosquito surveillance and control programs in response.
There have been 22 human cases of West Nile virus in the U.S. so far in 2026, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Most of those cases have been found in Arizona, Texas and California.
West Nile virus, the mosquito-transmitted infection linked at times to severe illness in humans, is all over New York City. Well, 89 ZIP codes of it, anyway.
That’s still more than half of the ZIP codes across the five boroughs. Note: Just because a ZIP code doesn’t come up in this table doesn’t mean there’s no West Nile virus found there, the health department cautions.
The agency put out new data earlier in August amid its ongoing West Nile remediation efforts, making it searchable for New Yorkers to see if their ZIP codes are on the list. (Get more official background on the virus here.)
Those infected may experience mild or no symptoms. Others can develop severe symptoms, including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness, and paralysis.
The symptoms may last several weeks. Neurological effects may be permanent.
Individuals, especially those 50 years or older or those with compromised immune systems, are urged to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.