An individual in his or her 50s has become the first person in Ventura County to contract West Nile virus, county health officials said recently.

The individual became acutely ill and suffered from symptoms similar to severe West Nile virus infection and required intensive supportive care at a hospital. This person is known to have spent time visiting another country before becoming ill and may well have contacted the infection there.

Ventura is the latest county in the state to have a human case of West Nile disease this year.

To date, 96 individuals from 22 counties in California have tested positive for the virus this year. The infection is rarely fatal, but in a small percentage of cases it can cause neurological and other serious health problems. So far, there have been two reported deaths from the virus in the state.