CLEVELAND (WJW) -- A serious mosquito-borne pathogen called La Crosse is spreading across the Buckeye State and can lead to debilitating conditions, especially in children.

The Ohio Department of Health said the state is leading the nation with double the normal cases.

Right now, they are reporting forty, with a few in Northeast Ohio and the majority in the central and southeastern part of the state.

Doctors say the type of mosquito that transmits La Crosse happens to thrive in that region, but larger outbreaks can happen anywhere and quickly.

“We saw a pretty big outbreak on the West Side about 25 years ago, and the Ohio Department of Health actually ended up spraying for mosquitoes in the neighborhoods where we were seeing kids,” said Dr. Claudia Hoyen, Director of Infection Control

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