(Undated) -- Minnesota has logged its first case of West Nile virus for 2010. State Health Department officials say a man in his 60s from Yellow Medicine County is hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis, the most serious form of the disease. Epidemiologist Dave Neitzel [[ NIGHT-zul ]] says August is typically the highest-risk month in Minnesota for West Nile because the population of mosquitoes which transit the virus is at a seasonal high. Neitzel advises people to use a mosquito repellent containing DEET or other effective alternatives. He also suggests minimizing outdoor activities at dawn and dusk, when West-nile-carrying mosquitoes are most active. The pests are most common in agricultural areas of central and western Minnesota, but Neitzel says West Nile cases are possible anywhere in the state.