ST. PAUL — As West Nile virus season wraps up in the region, it’s turning out to be among the worst ever for Minnesota and above average for North Dakota.

Each state is reporting higher-than-average caseloads, with numbers still coming in, for the virus that is primarily spread through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Elizabeth Schiffman, who supervises the Minnesota Department of Health's Vectorborne Diseases Unit, said 2025 is an “outbreak year.”

The state has recorded 103 West Nile cases and 10 deaths, one of those deaths in Clay County, as of Friday, Oct. 10.

Schiffman said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate up to 10% of those who develop West Nile neuroinvasive disease involving the brain or spinal cord die from it.

“We’re kind of on track with that,

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