The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says West Nile virus has been detected on Cape Cod.
Officials say 14 mosquito samples from five Cape communities – Barnstable, Bourne, Dennis, Falmouth, and Yarmouth – tested positive for West Nile from trap samples collected on Tuesday and on July 31st.
WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state, and are found in urban as well as more rural areas.
While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.