LOS ANGELES --
California now has its first deaths of the year from the West Nile Virus.
The director of the California Department of Public Health made the announcement on Monday. He said a 37-year-old man and an 86-year-old man, both from Kern County, are the first reported fatalities from West Nile Virus in 2011.
Last year there were 111 human cases and six reported fatalities.
The virus is most commonly transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite.