COLUMBIA, SC – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has confirmed eleven human cases of West Nile virus in South Carolina so far this year.

One of the eleven, an individual in Anderson County, died last month. The virus has also been detected in one horse, 13 birds, and 75 mosquito samples.

Human cases have been confirmed in Anderson, Beaufort, Greenville, Horry, Richland, Union, and York counties.RELATED STORY: West Nile Virus case confirmed in Myrtle Beach

Infected animal or mosquito samples have been confirmed in Anderson, Beaufort, Colleton, Greenville, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, Saluda, and York counties. Infected birds or mosquito samples have been confirmed in Beaufort, Greenville, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, Saluda, Union, and York counties.

The risk of serious illness or death from West Nile virus is low, according to DHEC’s press release.

Eight out of 10 people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms. About one in five people infected becomes ill within two to 14 days with symptoms including fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, diarrhea, rash, and occasionally nausea and vomiting. About one in 150 people infected develop more severe symptoms such as a potentially fatal swelling of the brain, known as encephalitis, or inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, known as meningitis. Other serious symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness, and paralysis.

When West Nile virus is confirmed in a local area, DHEC works with local officials to spray for mosquitoes near the reported case, remove mosquito habitats such as standing water, treat mosquito larvae, especially in storm drains with leaf litter or any other containers that cannot be turned over or discarded and conduct door-to-door visits to provide information to  residents.

For more on how to prevent mosquito bites and the spread mosquito-borne illnesses, go to www.scdhec.gov/mosquitoes.