West Nile virus has been detected in a goat in Lunenburg, becoming the first confirmed case in an animal in 2025 and raising the risk of infection across multiple Worcester County communities, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) said on Tuesday.

The Lake County Health Department reported the first human case of West Nile virus in Lake County for the year. The infected resident is in their 70s and became sick in early July, health officials confirmed.