West Nile Virus Kills Two in North Carolina as US Cases Pass 1,172
State officials confirmed two adult deaths in central North Carolina and 11 cases in the state this year. With no vaccine and no specific treatment, prevention is the only defense.
Key points
- Two adults in central North Carolina have died after catching West Nile virus, state health officials confirmed, in a season that has now recorded 1,172 human cases across the United States.
- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services first posted the two deaths on Oct. 9.
- The state reported its first 2026 case on Aug. 5, a resident of Gaston County.
Two adults in central North Carolina have died after catching West Nile virus, state health officials confirmed, in a season that has now recorded 1,172 human cases across the United States.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services first posted the two deaths on Oct. 9. The department told USA Today on Tuesday, Oct. 13 that the deaths happened in mid September and early October. Officials declined to give the counties, ages or genders of the two people, citing privacy. North Carolina has recorded 11 confirmed human cases this year, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data as of Oct. 6.
The state reported its first 2026 case on Aug. 5, a resident of Gaston County. At the same time, officials identified a blood donor in Mecklenburg County who tested positive for the virus.
The national picture
The CDC count of 1,172 cases nationwide includes 250 in California and dozens each in Texas, Arizona, Colorado and New York. West Nile remains the leading mosquito borne disease in the contiguous United States, according to the CDC. Most cases start between July and September, when mosquito activity peaks.
Most people who catch the virus never feel sick. Some develop fever and body aches. A smaller share develop serious neurological disease, such as meningitis or encephalitis. The CDC says one in 10 people who develop severe illness die from it. Older adults and people with underlying conditions, including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, face the highest risk.
No vaccine, no specific treatment
There is no licensed vaccine for West Nile virus and no medicine that treats it directly. Doctors treat severe cases with supportive care. That leaves prevention as the real defense, and state officials repeat the same short list every season.
Use an insect repellent with DEET or an equivalent on exposed skin. Wear long sleeves and long pants outside. Limit time outdoors between dusk and dawn, when the mosquitoes that carry the virus are most active; health officials say those mosquitoes are found statewide in North Carolina. Keep window and door screens in repair. Drain standing water from buckets, planters and gutters, because mosquitoes breed in it and can grow from egg to adult in about a week.
The virus moves from birds to people through mosquito bites. People carry too little of the virus in their blood to pass it back to mosquitoes, which is why the CDC calls humans dead end hosts. It does not spread through ordinary contact between people.