Riverside County Teen Has West Nile

A teenager from the Banning area in Riverside County has tested positive for West Nile virus, the second confirmed human case in the state this year, health officials said Thursday.

The boy, whose age was not released, was hospitalized four days in June with severe headaches and fever. He has returned home. Riverside County officials completed his test results Wednesday, and the state confirmed the results Thursday.

California’s first case was announced Wednesday: a 47-year-old Tulare County man who sought medical care for a fever and headache. A health official said he was recovering.

The Inland Empire and Los Angeles and Orange counties were virus hotbeds last year, with most of the state’s 830 human cases and 28 deaths occurring in Southern California.

“It’s hard to say if this season will be worse or the same. It is starting off slower,” said Barbara Cole, director of disease control for the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

In Riverside County, which reported 116 human cases and two deaths last year, nine dead birds have tested positive.

San Bernardino County has reported nine infected crows -- five in the last week -- and one infected chicken. It had 197 human cases and five deaths last year.

Mosquitoes carry West Nile virus, which can infect birds, horses and humans. About one-fifth of people infected develop flu-like symptoms, and fewer than 1% require hospitalization.

Ken August, spokesman for the state Department of Health Services, said the virus is expected to hit Northern and Central California harder this year, based on its patterns in other states.