Three new human cases of people infected with West Nile virus have been confirmed in North County, California, and in Larimer County bringing the number of people diagnosed with West Nile virus to four.

A 38-year-old Carlsbad woman and a 58-year-old Del Mar woman were hospitalized in mid-July for treatment of meningitis, the San Diego County officials said. Both developed West Nile symptoms, which are similar to meningitis.

The most recent human case is a 38-year-old Loveland man, coloradoan.com reported. He had likely been infected in Loveland.

Compared to the similar period in 2005, when there were 13 confirmed human cases, the situation may be regarded as a promising one. The number of cases and infected pools are fairly low for this moment of the summer.

Officials pinpoint that prevention is the best means to curb the number of people infected and recommend to eliminate any medium that favor mosquito breeding like eliminating still water, using insect repellent and paying careful attention to window screens.

They also warn that although this virus rarely causes death, it is extremely important for children, elderly people and those with a weakened immune system to pay more attention as they are more prone to severe complications due to their vulnerabilities. Those with chronic medical affections are also advised to be more attentive.

Although the number of people infected is relatively low this year, John Pape, an epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment advised people not to forget that West Nile is a very serious disease.

The West Nile virus can be contacted by humans via mosquito bites that caught the disease from infected birds. The symptoms, which are similar with those of flu, include fever, nausea and headaches. The worst symptoms are met when the virus affects the neurological system.