A 76-year-old Hamilton County man has become Ohio’s first human death in a 2012 West Nile virus case, the Ohio Department of Health reported Wednesday afternoon.

The department did not identify the victim by name or city, but did report that the man was hospitalized with encephalitis.

“We continue to see growing numbers of human cases of West Nile virus infection and positive mosquito samples throughout the state,” said ODH Director Ted Wymyslo, M.D. “Ohioans should remain vigilant and take all reasonable precautions to protect themselves against mosquito bites.”

So far in 2012, Ohio has recorded 49 human cases of West Nile virus and 960 positive mosquito samples. At this time last year, ODH had only recorded 2 human cases and 450 positive mosquito samples. The percentage of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus so far in 2012 has been higher than in any year since 2002. By the end of the 2002 season, Ohio had 441 human West Nile virus cases and 31 fatalities.

Culex mosquitoes (the type that transmit the virus) do well in drought-like conditions, preferring to breed in organically rich water sources, such as shrinking water in ditches and catch basins. Recent heat across the region has also sped up the mosquitoes’ life cycle and virus amplification.

Ohio has recorded human cases of West Nile virus each year since 2002. There were 108 in 2003, 12 in 2004, 61 in 2005, 48 in 2006, 23 in 2007, 15 in 2008, 2 in 2009, 5 in 2010 and 21 in 2011.

Read more about the case in Thursday’s Dayton Daily News. Hear more about the case on News Center 7.