MARIETTA — Cobb and Douglas Public Heath has confirmed that a 75-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman are the first Cobb residents to be diagnosed with West Nile Virus for 2012.

The two, whose names were not released, were both hospitalized for their symptoms and have been released.

“These cases reinforce the need for all of us to be vigilant in applying preventive measures to help control mosquito breeding,” Chris Hutcheson, the center’s director of environmental health, said in a press release Monday.

He recommends cleaning gutters; emptying sitting water in flowerpots, old tires or recycling bins to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs or breeding; and using insect repellants with DEET on people older than two months.

The health department also suggests avoiding outdoor activities at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active, and dressing appropriately when outdoors for long periods of time by wearing tightly woven, light-colored clothing, long sleeves when possible, pants, shoes and socks.

“Practicing prevention techniques that control mosquito breeding, coupled with applying personal protection techniques, has proven effective in reducing incidents of West Nile virus infection,” Hutcheson said.

People catch West Nile from mosquitoes infected with the disease. Symptoms include mild flu-like symptoms such as a headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands or a rash.

Complication from the virus include serious illness such as meningitis, which is the swelling of the membrane surrounding the spinal cord, or encephalitis, which is the swelling of the brain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of people bitten by an infected mosquito do not exhibit signs or symptoms, and people older than 50 are at greater risk for complications from the disease.

Cobb Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa informed his staff of the confirmed cases, one which he said was in Mableton and the other in Acworth, in a Board Update on July 27.

He received a report from the public health department last week telling him about the cases and was told that no schools in either Mableton or Acworth have been affected at this point but that they will be “apprised of further developments.”

For more information on the West Nile Virus or preventative measures, visit www.cobbanddouglaspublichealth.org or www.cdc.org.