Fifth Kansan ill with West Nile Virus

Topeka — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Monday it has confirmed the state’s fifth human case of West Nile Virus.

Officials said the victim was a 62-year-old Seward County resident. The person first showed signs of illness on July 20 and was hospitalized; the person is now recovering at home.

No one has died from West Nile this year. Last year, KDHE confirmed 22 human West Nile cases, with no deaths, though the death of a Great Bend man remains under investigation.

The state has been monitoring birds, horses and mosquitos for signs of the virus since May. West Nile is considered primarily a bird disease, but humans can contract it when bitten by mosquitos that have bitten infected birds.

Power plant shuts when valve fails

Burlington — Wolf Creek Generating Station shut down Monday afternoon when a feedwater isolation valve failed at the nuclear power plant, officials said.

The valve failure caused a loss of feedwater flow to one of the plant’s four steam generators, triggering an automatic shutdown at 3:54 p.m. The shutdown went according to plan, officials said in a statement.

The plant is expected to resume full power operations next week.

The reactor, which is about 100 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., is operated by Westar Inc. and Kansas City Power & Light Co.