TRENTON -- The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) reported its 28^th human case of West Nile virus infection in New Jersey this year, Health and Senior Services Commissioner Clifton R. Lacy, M.D. announced today.

The case is a 61 year-old Plainfield (Union County) man, who had onset of fever, altered mental status, headache, rash, muscle weakness, and stiff neck on August 17, 2003. He was hospitalized on the same day with a diagnosis of meningoencephalitis. He was discharged from the hospital on August 24, 2003 and has recovered.

Information on New Jersey’s current number of confirmed West Nile cases in humans, crows and mosquito pools is available on the DHSS web site at http://www.state.nj.us/health/ by clicking on the West Nile Virus link.  The site also has information on transmission, symptoms and protective measures New Jerseyans can take.

Data regarding nationally confirmed cases and trends can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/.

New Jersey's West Nile virus surveillance, control and prevention activities involve the coordinated efforts of a number of federal, state and local agencies. These include the New Jersey Departments of Health and Senior Services, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture, the CDC, the State Mosquito Control Commission, the Rutgers Mosquito Research and Control Unit, and local health and mosquito control agencies.