Sarasota County residents are being urged to avoid mosquito bites after the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County announced a confirmed human case of locally acquired West Nile virus illness on Friday, Oct. 23. A locally acquired case means the person was infected by a mosquito in Florida rather than while traveling. The department issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory in response.
Officials did not release the patient's age, condition, or where the exposure likely happened. The department said Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services "has already conducted mosquito control treatments in the area." It did not say whether other possible cases are under review.
