By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – Health officials say a Mobile man has been treated for this year's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in the state. The Mobile County health department says the man is in his 80s and is recovering after being treated at a local hospital. The man lives in northwest Mobile. Alabama is the ninth state to report a human case of the virus this year. Last year, the state had 37 human cases of West Nile virus. Department of Public Health officials say it's important to remember the virus is spread by mosquitoes that feed on infected birds...and it causes encephalitis -- or an inflammation of the brain -- in less than one percent of those who are infected. Health officials also say more than 80 percent of the people who contract West Nile virus develop no symptoms or only mild symptoms.