West Nile Virus detected in body of water in northern Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Health officials in northeastern Utah have detected West Nile Virus in a body of water, the state's first report of the virus this year.

The TriCounty Health Department said a water sample from the Uintah Basin tested positive for the virus, KSL-TV reported.

West Nile Virus is most commonly carried by mosquitoes and can infect humans, birds, horses and other mammals. It was first reported in the U.S. in 1999 and in Utah in August 2003.

Symptoms can include fever, headaches or sudden weakness, but more than 70% of people infected with the virus never develop any signs or symptoms, the state Department of Health said.

County health officials have encouraged people to use an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellent with DEET and wear skin-covering clothes when outdoors to help prevent bites from infected mosquitoes.