On June 25, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) of the 2025 mosquito season. The infected individual is from Livingston Parish, east of Baton Rouge, and was hospitalized due to complications from the disease. WNV has been actively spreading across Louisiana since 2002, with 57 confirmed cases and three deaths last year.
The virus can cause mild to severe illnesses. While most infected individuals remain asymptomatic, others develop fever, body aches, nausea, and rashes. About 1 in 150 people infected with WNV develop a severe illness that can affect the brain and the nervous system, leading to paralysis and even death. In 2024, the United States recorded over 1,400 WNV cases in 49 states, with Texas as the worst affected. There is still no vaccine candidate approved in the country to protect people from the disease.
