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SANTA FE — State health officials have confirmed that a woman from San Juan County and a teenage girl from Roosevelt County were treated for West Nile virus.

The state Health Department said Friday the 60-year-old woman had meningitis and the 15-year-old girl had encephalitis and meningitis. Both were both hospitalized and have since returned home.

The state has had four cases of West Nile so far this year.

The first two cases were in a 57-year-old woman from Chaves County and a 66-year-old man from Doña Ana County. Both remain hospitalized, the department said.

"We're seeing West Nile activity in many different areas of the state so everyone needs to be careful," said state epidemiologist C. Mack Sewell. "Protect yourself by using a repellent when you are outdoors, especially during the evening and early morning when mosquitoes are most active."

Earlier this year, horses from Eddy, Socorro, and Mora counties and mosquitoes from San Juan, Bernalillo, and Doña Ana counties tested positive for West Nile.

West Nile causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches, although most people who become infected have no symptoms or only mild ones. People over age 50 are at most risk for serious complications such as meningitis and encephalitis, which can be fatal.

The Health Department has set up a West Nile surveillance system across the state, and provides traps, shipping and testing for local mosquito control programs.

Last year, New Mexico reported eight human cases of West Nile. One was fatal.

In 2005, the state reported 33 human cases; two victims died. In 2004, the state had 88 confirmed human cases, with four deaths. In 2003, the year the virus first appeared in New Mexico, there were 209 confirmed human cases and four deaths.