Child among first human West Nile Virus cases of 2025 in New Jersey, health officials say
New Jersey government agencies are urging precautions against the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus after detecting multiple positive cases in humans.
The first positive case of 2025 was a child in Atlantic County who reported symptoms in the third week of July, the New Jersey Department of Health said in a news release.
A second case was found when an adult in Middlesex County tested positive for the virus and had symptoms in the first week of August.
The patients in those two cases were discharged from hospitals and are recovering at home.
There are also four suspected cases under investigation; the locations of these cases were not specified. An additional asymptomatic case was in a blood donor in Sussex County, who tested positive for the virus.
New Jersey had 41 human cases of West Nile Virus last year, including eight deaths.
While most cases happen between mid-August and mid-September, mosquito season can last into mid-November, depending on the weather, Acting New Jersey Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said in the release. Further spread to humans could occur as there are high levels of the virus circulating in mosquitoes currently.
NJDOH recommends these precautions:
- Wearing EPA-registered insect repellent
- Treating clothing with permethrin or using pre-treated clothing
- Wearing long sleeves and long pants to cover exposed skin
- Covering cribs, strollers and baby carriers with mosquito netting
- Reduce mosquitoes in your yard and around your home by dumping out standing water
"Standing water that pools in yard items such as empty planters serves as mosquito breeding grounds that cause the number of mosquitoes to grow rapidly and increase your risk of serious mosquito-borne diseases," Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said.
West Nile Virus in the Northeast U.S. in 2025
Multiple counties in southeastern Pennsylvania began spraying adulticide this summer after West Nile Virus was detected in local mosquitoes.
As of Aug. 29, WNV has been detected in all but two counties in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The state reported 19 human cases so far in 2025, with 4 equine cases and 3,070 in mosquitoes. Lancaster County has the most human cases, with 4.
In New York City, officials announced last week that two Queens residents tested positive for West Nile Virus and other probable cases in other boroughs are under investigation.
Outside the city, there is one human case of WNV, in Erie County, the most recent activity report from the New York State Department of Health states. Several other mosquito pools that are positive for the virus have been found in Erie County (6), Rockland County (12), Suffolk County (14) and Westchester County (4).
Delaware has not yet recorded a human case, but the virus was detected in sentinel chickens in mid-August.