State authorities reported on Thursday that an eighth person has been infected with West Nile virus.

The Stamford resident becomes the first in the town to test positive this year for the virus.

State officials identified the person only as someone between the ages of 60 and 69. Officials said the person became ill during the first week of the month with encephalitis and continues to recover.

Officials said the patient's blood samples indicated the presence of West Nile virus-specific antibodies.

So far this year, three cases of West Nile virus infection were reported in New Haven and one each in Bridgeport, Bristol, Hamden, Stamford and West Haven. Of those, a 75-year-old New Haven resident has died from the virus.

State officials said mosquito pools that are testing positive for West Nile virus have spread throughout much of the shoreline from Stamford through Norwalk and New Haven and northward to West Harford and Wethersfield.

Stay with WFSB.com and Channel 3 Eyewitness News for the latest West Nile virus updates.