Overview
- Long Beach announced late Saturday that the state’s first symptomatic human West Nile virus case of 2026 involved a person who was hospitalized with neuroinvasive illness and is now recovering at home.
- Health officials said West Nile spreads through Culex mosquito bites, most infections cause no symptoms, fewer than 1% develop severe brain or nerve disease, and no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment exists.
- The city is boosting mosquito surveillance and control and advising residents to use EPA‑registered repellent, wear long sleeves at dawn and dusk, repair screens, and remove standing water, a list emphasized by Acting City Health Officer Dr. Cliff Okada.
- Regional testing has found West Nile in mosquito traps and dead birds across multiple California jurisdictions, but local reporting differs on whether WNV‑positive mosquitoes have been detected inside Long Beach itself.
- Public health teams normally rely on trap testing, dead bird reports and targeted spraying to slow spread, and officials warn that hot months from June through October raise transmission risk for older adults and people with chronic conditions.