Rhode Island has recorded its first human case of West Nile virus in 2026, the state Department of Health and Department of Environmental Management announced Wednesday.
The patient is a Washington County resident in their 60s whose symptoms began in early September, according to RIDOH. The person has been recovering in the hospital and is expected to be released soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the positive test last week.
The individual had traveled to an area with active West Nile transmission, and based on that history, the infection was likely acquired outside Rhode Island, according to RIDOH.
The state has lowered its West Nile risk level to low because of seasonally declining mosquito populations. Some risk remains until the entire state sees a hard frost — defined as three consecutive hours below 32 degrees — which kills adult mosquitoes, according to the announcement.
Mosquito trapping and testing for the 2026 season have concluded. Totals are posted on RIDOH’s arboviral surveillance data page.
West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States, and there is no vaccine to prevent it or medication to treat it. Most people infected never feel sick; about one in five develop a fever and other symptoms, and about one in 150 develop a serious and sometimes fatal illness, according to RIDOH.
State officials reported no human or mosquito findings of Eastern equine encephalitis in Rhode Island this year. EEE is far rarer than West Nile but considerably more dangerous — roughly 30% of people who contract it die, and many survivors have lasting neurological problems, according to RIDOH.
More information is available at health.ri.gov/wnv and health.ri.gov/eee.
