The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed last week Evanston’s first case of West Nile virus, according to a city news release. The victim, a 66-year-old man, is the second Illinois resident diagnosed with the virus this year.

Symptoms of West Nile include fever, headache and body aches, according to the city release. Only about two in 10 people bitten by an infected mosquito contract the disease, but meningitis, encephalitis and death can also result from a bite. Symptoms often occur three to 14 days after a bite froman infected mosquito.

The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District, which is responsible for mosquito control in Evanston, has found more mosquitoes and birds testing positive for West Nile this year than usual, NSMAD spokesman Dave Zazra said. Because this summer was warmer than average, both mosquitoes and the virus itself have been able to breed more quickly than in most years, he said.

The NSMAD is managing the disease by eliminating breeding sites, Zazra said. These sites include bodies of standing water of all sizes, from ponds to buckets.

“An area as small as a bottle cap of water could possibly be a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” he said.

Although West Nile has received less media coverage in recent years than when it first appeared on the North Shore in 2001, it still poses a threat to public health, Zazra said. Residents can help protect themselves by wearing insect repellent around dusk and dawn, dressing in long sleeves when they go outdoors and pouring out standing water.

“If people take the precautions necessary, they really don’t need to be concerned about it,” he said.

West Nile virus reached a high point in Illinois in 2002, when 884 cases and 67 deaths were reported in humans, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Since then, cases in Illinois have rapidly decreased, with five human cases reported in 2009.

College-age students are less likely to contract West Nile than adults older than 50.

Jessica Allen also contributed reporting.