DENVER -- The state has confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in Colorado this year.

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A blood sample taken from a 28-year-old man from Weld County has tested positive at the Department of Public Health and Environment's laboratory in Denver, health officials said Tuesday. The man was not hospitalized and is recovering.

"It is not surprising that Colorado's first human case of West Nile virus for 2003 would come from Weld County because there already has been a great deal of virus activity in the area," said Dr. Ned Calonge, the state's chief medical officer.

According to state epidemiologists, the man became ill on July 6 and saw his doctor on July 11. The positive test result was obtained on Monday, July 21. Two tests were done at the department's laboratory and the sample has been forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's laboratory for a third confirmatory test.

A total of 121 human specimens have been tested in Colorado so far this year for the disease but only this one has been positive, state health officials said.

"We've been prepared for this. A first case of West Nile virus is not a reason to panic, but an opportunity to take precautions to protect yourself against the disease," said Dr. Mark Wallace, director of the Weld County Health Department.

Coloradoans, especially those over 50 years old, are being reminded to take precautions by protecting themselves against mosquitoes and by reducing mosquito breeding grounds near their homes.

Such prevention measures include avoiding outdoor activities at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active; wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants, shoes and socks; using mosquito repellents with DEET; and eliminating standing water in tires, birdbaths or similar water-holding containers because these may serve as mosquito breeding sites.

Last year, 14 people in Colorado were confirmed to have the West Nile virus. They all recovered or are recovering.

So far this year, eight other human cases have been reported across the country; four in Texas and one each in Alabama, Minnesota, Ohio, and South Carolina.

This year, 10 people who have donated blood at Bonfils Blood Center have testedpositive for West Nile virus, but the experimental genetic test that was used to screen the donors is new and unproven, and it could produce incorrect results, officials said.

Each of the donors whose blood tested positive for the virus said they did not have any West Nile symptoms. The donors have been contacted and will return to Bonfils to provide new blood samples for further testing.

West Nile symptoms include fever, headache, eye pain, body aches, skin rash, swollen lymphglands, nausea and vomiting.

More information on the West Nile virus can be found at FightTheBiteColorado.com or by calling the Colorado Health Education Line at 877-462-2911.