This is right when the virus tends to show up in central Oklahoma — the OKC-County Health Department says West Nile season usually runs from May through November.

Now that the Department has detected the virus in mosquitoes, it’s encouraging residents to drain standing water and protect themselves with insect repellent and high-coverage clothing.

Last year, the state recorded two cases where people came down with West Nile — one in Oklahoma County and the other in Seminole County. Those patients both had serious, neuroinvasive symptoms that only occur in about 1 of every 150 people who get the virus.

The OKC-County Health Department runs a “Skeeter Meter” on their website where they monitor the latest local buzz.