The Evanston Health Department confirmed Friday it has its first human case of West Nile virus in 2014.

The case was reported in a 60-year-old Evanston resident.

This is the 16th confirmed human case in Illinois this year, according to the city’s health department. A total of 117 cases were reported in the state in 2013.

The Cook County Department of Public Health reported its first case on Aug. 27. A woman in her 40s from the southwest suburb of Oak Lawn contracted the virus.

In June, a sample of Evanston mosquitoes tested positive for the West Nile virus, the city said.

The health department warned Evanston residents to use insect repellent, cover all windows and doors with screens and avoid being outdoors during dawn and dusk — the peak mosquito times.

“Residents need to be cognizant that West Nile virus prevention does not stop with the adult mosquito operations performed by the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District,” said Evonda Thomas-Smith, director of the Evanston Health Department, in an email distributed to Evanston media.

The West Nile virus is most often transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes that were infected through feeding on diseased birds.

Although 70 to 80 percent of people infected will not display any symptoms, some could show minor symptoms two to 14 days after being bitten, including rashes, headaches and body aches, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. In less than 1 percent of cases, West Nile virus can result in serious illnesses or death.

As of Sept. 17, 724 cases of the West Nile virus were reported nationwide, according to a disease map from the U.S. Geological Survey.

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