Topeka ? The state has recorded its first reported case of West Nile virus in a human this year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Thursday.

KDHE spokesman Mike Heideman said the person is an adult under age 65 from north-central Kansas who was hospitalized and recovered. He said the person couldn’t be further identified because of privacy concerns.

“Everyone should take action to protect themselves now that it is once again West Nile virus season,” Dr. Gail Hansen, state epidemiologist, said in a news release. “Most people who get West Nile never know that they have it because West Nile usually doesn’t cause symptoms.”

However, she said, the disease in some cases can prove severe or fatal. Last year, there were 25 West Nile cases that resulted in three deaths.

Mild symptoms include fever, headache, rash and general muscle aches. More severe problems are possible, including encephalitis, swelling of the brain, or meningitis, swelling of the lining around the brain and spinal cord.

West Nile can be spread by mosquitoes that first bite an infected bird and then a human. It’s not transmitted from person to person, and those who have had West Nile are considered immune from the virus. Horses also can be infected by the virus.

Cases are most common in late summer and start to subside in early fall when mosquitoes go dormant because of colder weather.

This is the sixth year for West Nile in Kansas and the eighth year it has been found in the United States.