A Mainer with no recent history of traveling outside the state tested positive for West Nile virus, health officials said Tuesday.

Though the state is awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health officials believe the Cumberland County resident acquired the disease locally. If true, it would be the first local infection detected in a Maine resident since 2020, the state Department of Health and Human Services said in a Tuesday news release.

The department did not identify the individual but said they were in their 40s. They are the second Maine resident to be infected with West Nile this year, the department said. A Waldo resident also tested positive for the virus in July, but officials said they had likely been infected while traveling outside Maine.

Residents of Cumberland, Kennebec, Penobscot, Somerset and Waldo counties are at high risk of mosquito-borne illnesses, the department said. The rest of the state is at an “elevated risk.”

“If you experience flu-like symptoms, severe headache, behavior changes, or serious drowsiness, call a health care provider, especially if a COVID-19 test is negative,” the department said in the release.

Many people who contract West Nile virus are asymptomatic or have fever and flu-like symptoms, according to the Maine CDC. In rare cases, it can be fatal.

The Maine CDC recommends that those in communities in which arboviruses – viruses carried by arthropods like ticks and mosquitoes – are found cover their skin when outdoors and use insect repellent. Residents also can avoid being outdoors during dawn and dusk, when mosquitos are most active.

Maine CDC Director Putheiry Va said that, in addition to the human West Nile infection, four domestic animals tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, last week.

“Maine people know that mosquitoes are a nuisance, but we want people to be aware that they can also potentially lead to serious consequences for your health,” Va said in the release. “Whether mowing the lawn, walking the dog, or enjoying a meal outside, we want all Maine people to remember to take precautions against mosquito bites whenever you go outside.”

So far this year, the state has reported EEE in four horses, two emus, a llama and a wild turkey; Jamestown Canyon virus, another mosquito-borne illness, in four groups of mosquitoes tested for surveillance; and West Nile in 15 wild birds.