Six new cases of West Nile virus were reported in city residents in the last three days, almost as many as in the whole rest of the summer so far, according to the city health department's Web site. There has been one death, a man in his 80s who had recently traveled outside the city, the department said. The new cases bring the total to 14, three more cases than there were last year.
The number of mosquitoes infected with the virus is up sharply this year, the health department said. West Nile has been detected in 254 samples of mosquitoes collected around the city this summer, 40 percent more than the 181 positive samples found by the end of last summer.
The health department said that while the number of human cases “is within the same range that we have seen over the past decade,†3 to 42 cases, the department was “taking every precaution necessary across the city and is regularly spraying to protect the health of New Yorkers.â€
The city sprayed pesticide on parts of the Upper West Side early Friday morning. No further spraying is scheduled anywhere in the city, but when and where there is a need, the health department said, it will spray, always giving 48 hours' notice.
Late August is typically the peak time for West Nile in the city.
An earlier version of this post erroneously included a specific age for the man who died. The health department reported that he was in his 80s, not that he was 80 years old.
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