Suburban Cook County resident first human Illinois West Nile virus-related death of 2023

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that fed on an infected bird. (Sun-Times file)

A suburban Cook County resident who died this month was reported Wednesday as the state’s first human West Nile virus-related death of the year.

The individual, who was in their 90s, had an “onset of symptoms” of the virus earlier this month and died shortly after, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.