Long Beach health officials reported Thursday the city’s first West Nile virus-related death since 2017 as cases of the mosquito-borne disease continue to rise.
The person was hospitalized and died after developing neuroinvasive illness, according to the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services. No other information about the person was released.
As of Thursday, 41 West Nile virus cases had been reported in Long Beach this year, with 71% involving neuroinvasive illness. Health officials said the number is substantially higher than at the same point in 2014, when 22 cases had been reported. A total of 56 cases were reported in the city that year…