CDC recommends repellents containing DEET to hold off mosquitoes. A new addition to its list, Picaridin, is considered to be as effective and long-lasting -- about seven or eight hours -- as DEET.

New Mexico's Department of Health announced Thursday that the virus has been confirmed in two men: one a 44-year-old from Bernalillo County, who had a mild form of the disease; and the other a 37-year-old from Valencia County, who was hospitalized with a more severe form that invades the brain.

The Valencia County man has been released from the hospital.

Given the lag time on developing and testing for the disease, the men were probably bitten by an infected mosquito around the end of May or early June, according to Paul Ettestad, public health veterinarian. Both became sick and saw their doctors the second week in June, he said.

Spread by Mosquito Bites

West Nile virus only spread to New Mexico in recent years, with the first human case in 2003. Spread by mosquito bites, the virus doesn't even sicken most people who encounter it. Some, though, develop a fever and flu-like symptoms. A small percentage might develop encephalitis or meningitis when the virus enters the brain or its surrounding membrane.

That group has shown lingering symptoms, such as fatigue and fuzzy thinking, even a year after becoming sick.

Monitoring stations that catch mosquitoes for testing around the state have found mosquitoes in Dona Ana County positive for the virus, Ettestad added.

There's some thought that the Bernalillo County man was infected on a trip to the southern part of the state, according to Mark DiMenna, supervisor for biodisease management with Albuquerque's Environmental Health Department. "He probably didn't contract it here (in Albuquerque)," DiMenna said.

That doesn't mean the virus isn't lurking in local mosquitoes. Bosque flooding from a wet winter and spring brought reports of high numbers of mosquitoes by mid-May, especially in the South Valley, he said. That sent mosquito-control workers out into the field almost a month earlier than usual, he said.

"Now we're getting calls (of mosquito complaints) from other parts of town," DiMenna said. The city's mosquito control hotline is 768-2738.

Recommended Repellents

Experience with the disease has shown cases tend to peak the second week in August, which means people were getting bitten around the end of July, Ettestad said. That's often the same time that mosquito numbers are peaking, he said.

Only a few human cases have been reported nationwide so far this year: four in South Dakota and one each in Missouri, Kansas and Texas through June 28, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.

That agency, which has recommended repellents containing DEET to hold off mosquitoes, has expanded its list of effective ingredients. One of them, Picaridin, is considered to be as effective and long-lasting -- about seven or eight hours -- as DEET.

"I sprayed some on myself yesterday. It's almost odorless," Ettestad said of a Picaridin-containing product, adding that it also did not have the oily feel of DEET.

Natural products containing soybean oil or oil of lemon eucalyptus are also effective but have to be applied more often -- about every two hours, Ettestad said.

Don't apply repellents to your pets, he added. Cats and dogs rarely get sick from West Nile virus and would be in greater danger from licking repellent from their fur and getting its toxins in their systems, he said.

Tips to Avoid Exposure

To prevent exposure to West Nile virus, the state Department of Health recommends you