The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals confirmed five new cases of West Nile virus Friday, two of them in Lafayette Parish.

This brings the state total to 39 for the year. In 2012, Louisiana reported 160 cases of the neuroinvasive form of West Nile virus.

One of the Lafayette cases is the more serious neuroinvasive type of the disease, while the other is an asymptomatic form of West Nile fever. Of the remaining three, two were the neuroinvasive type, one each in Caldwell and Rapides Parish. The other was a case of West Nile fever in Ouachita Parish.

People who contract West Nile fever exhibit flu-like symptoms. However, about 90% of all cases show no symptoms at all. These cases are detected through blood donations or routine medical tests.

Residents throughout the state are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites because they are the carriers of the virus.

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