Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi State Department of Health has announced four new cases of West Nile virus.

Mississippi now has seven cases for 2015. The reported cases are in Covington, Forrest, Hinds and Rankin counties. No deaths have been reported the year.

Cases have been previously reported in Adams, Hinds and Simpson counties.

Health officials only report laboratory-confirmed cases to the public.

Last year, 43 people in Mississippi came down with the virus, and seven of them died.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs said in Monday's news release that people need to protect themselves from mosquitoes. He says the number of cases begins increasing in summer, peaking in August and September. But he says they can occur any time of year.