WOODLAND HILLS—It has been reported by health officials that almost 60 percent of cases of the West Nile virus found in humans has been in the San Fernando Valley.

According to Crystal Brown, public information officer for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, the amount of dead birds and mosquito traps testing positive for the virus is reaching epidemic proportions and most of the cases are coming from the Valley region. More dead birds with the virus were found in Woodland Hills, Chatsworth, Encino, Van Nuys and Reseda in the past week.

Reports of dead birds with the potentially-fatal virus have once again been found in North Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Tarzana and Canoga Park. For the first time, an area within the 91326 Zip code, Porter Ranch was reported to have found a dead bird with the virus.

Also, for the first time, bucking a trend that was seen throughout the summer, Studio City did not add to the six dead birds and twelve mosquito traps that tested positive for the virus this year for the 91604 area. Van Nuys and Encino however saw a rise in positive samples of West Nile, becoming “hotspot” areas for the virus. An awareness campaign and a cooling of the weather are being credited for these reduced numbers.

The virus is not contagious from human to human; it is transmitted from bird to human by way of mosquito bites. The state of California saw its first case in 2003, and it was initially discovered in Uganda in 1937. Symptoms of the virus include coughing, high fever and can be fatal in extreme cases. Most people that transmit the virus usually get over it in five to seven days.