The Wisconsin Department of Health announced the state's first deaths from the West Nile virus this year. Two men, one in his seventies, the other in his fifties passed away this month. Both had underlying conditions. According to health officials, a woman in her eighties is currently hospitalized with the virus. Health officials say these cases were contracted in July in Northeastern Wisconsin, out of Gy Fondulac and Brown counties. But they did add the viruses also present in other parts of the state. This is typically how West Nile virus occurs. It's sporadic across the state. And um we have quite a few counties that have already detected West Nile virus activity, whether that's in mosquitoes, animals or people. Well, symptoms can be as mild as a fever or as severe as tremors and memory loss. But about 80% of people infected won't ever know they have it. It's not just West Nile virus. A man in New Hampshire recently died from another mosquito borne illness known as Triple E Gordon Severson spoke with our local experts to find out what diseases they're finding here in Minnesota. It is kind of a quieter year for West Nile here in Minnesota with all the rain this summer. You may be surprised to hear West Nile virus cases are down this year. At this point, we've officially reported three cases of West Nile in Minnesota and we have a few more that we're currently investigating Elizabeth Schiffman with the Minnesota Department of Health says three cases is significant lower than the 63 cases we saw last year. But mosquito season is far from over. This is always the busiest time of year for West Nile infections. Kirk Johnson with the Metropolitan mosquito Control district says their lab teams are also keeping an eye out for other diseases. Eastern equine encephalitis, also known as Tripoli is a mosquito borne virus that we tend to see in the coastal states. Johnson says there has never been a confirmed case of Tripoli in Minnesota, but with the fatal case in New Hampshire this week and a confirmed case near Green Bay. Experts say we could see it in Minnesota someday soon and it is of concern to us because it is one of the more dangerous mosquito borne viruses in North America. It has a case fatality rate of over 30%. Some areas in South America are also seeing more cases of the Oruche or Oruche virus this year. Local experts say it's another virus that we also haven't seen in Minnesota. Only a handful of cases have ever been reported in the entire United States. It's something we're keeping an eye out for it. Not something I would say Minnesotans need to a lot about just yet. And since right now is actually peak season for West Nile virus. Here in Minnesota, the metropolitan mosquito control district is recommending bug spray anytime you're spending time outside over the next couple of weeks. I actually recently put together a news story about the products that work best and the products that don't. I'm going to share a link to that story on our website at carole.com.