West Nile Virus Symptoms. There is already a case of West Nile virus (WNV) in New Jersey as symptoms found out last July and August 2025. WNV is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause a range of symptoms, from mild fever to severe neurological disease.

The New Jersey Department of Health is reporting the state’s first human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) this year.  A child tested positive for West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease in Atlantic County with symptoms reported the third week of July. An adult in Middlesex County also tested positive for West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease with symptoms reported in the first week of August. Both residents have been discharged from the hospital and are recovering at home. Four suspect cases of WNV are currently under investigation. An additional report of an asymptomatic WNV-positive blood donor was reported in a Sussex County resident.  

West Nile Virus Symptoms

Fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, fatigue, rash, and nausea and vomiting are the common symptoms of this virus.

In a critical and extremely severe case the patient can experience encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord). Symptoms of severe WNV infection can include Confusion, Seizures, Paralysis, and Coma.  – National Library of Medicine

If you are bothered how, it infects and transmits, it spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. Birds are the primary reservoir for the virus, and mosquitoes transmit it to humans and other animals.