A Kent County resident has died after being sickened by a mosquito-borne illness. It’s the county’s first confirmed case, and death, of the year, health officials reported Thursday morning, Aug. 21. No further details about the resident were immediately made available. West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes.

A human case of the West Nile virus was detected in Kent County, health officials said Thursday. "We've confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in a county resident this season, which sadly resulted in death," Brendan Earl, Supervising Sanitarian for the Kent County Health Department, said in a statement.