LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a south-central Nebraska man is the state’s first reported human case of West Nile virus this season.

The Nebraska Health and Human Services Department says a man in his 70s in Hamilton County was hospitalized and has been released.

Officials urge people to take precautions, including using an insect repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants while outside, especially at dusk and dawn, and draining standing water where mosquitoes can breed.

West Nile virus has flu-like symptoms. Symptoms of the more serious West Nile encephalitis include inflammation of the brain and paralysis. The disease can be fatal.