Agency: Mosquito-borne virus risk remains until hard freeze

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - State health officials say a rare mosquito-borne virus that's killed one Indiana resident will remain a threat until the first hard freeze of the fall occurs.

The eastern equine encephalitis virus has been found this year in more than a dozen horses and one mosquito sample in northern Indiana.

The Indiana State Department of Health said Saturday that an Elkhart County resident had died from the virus. That person's death was Indiana's first human case of the illness since 1998 and only the fourth reported since 1964.

Although mosquito activity decreases with cooler temperatures, state health officials say the risk of mosquito-borne diseases won't end for the year until the first hard freeze occurs.

Health officials say Hoosiers should continue to take steps to prevent mosquito bites until that time.