Bay State health officials are reporting the first confirmed case of West Nile virus in an animal this year, as people are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites. A goat was recently exposed to the virus in Lunenburg in Worcester County, the Department of Public Health announced on Tuesday.

New Orleans ramps up mosquito control due to West Nile virus activity, planning nighttime spray missions in several neighborhoods.

Warming trends across North America have helped establish West Nile virus (WNV) as an endemic disease in New York state, and in the future continued climate change will help increase transmissibility of the virus, according to new research published late last week in Scientific Reports.

Lubbock is reminding citizens of its online method to request mosquito spraying as recent heavy rainfall creates conditions for the insects to thrive.