Squirrel Hill woman briefly hospitalized with county's 1st human case of West Nile this year

A Squirrel Hill woman was hospitalized recently after contracting West Nile Virus, the first human case in Allegheny County this year, according to the county health department.

The woman, who is in her 70s, was “briefly hospitalized before being released to recover at home,” health officials said in a statement.

It is the first case of the mosquito-spread virus in Allegheny County since October.

Officials said they’ve set up more mosquito traps in Squirrel Hill to monitor the virus and treated five more areas where mosquitoes carrying the virus were detected.

Only about 20% of people who are infected with West Nile Virus will show symptoms, and less than 1% will develop severe symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Typical symptoms include headache, body aches, joint pain, rash and gastrointestinal issues.

Most people, officials said, recover on their own.

The last human case of West Nile Virus in Allegheny County was reported last October when a McKees Rocks man in his 60s was diagnosed. An Aspinwall man was diagnosed a month earlier. Those were the first cases in the county since 2018, according to the health department.

Nine other human cases of West Nile have been detected in Pennsylvania this year.

In July, the health department detected West Nile in mosquito samples taken from Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze and the North Side and also in Wilkinsburg.

Health officials urged residents to remove standing water from their yards and make sure windows and doors have screens in them. Insect repellent, they said, is the most effective way to stave off mosquitoes.