Washington Parish has its first confirmed case of the West Nile Virus.

Darren Spears of Bogalusa, who is in his late thirties, remains hospitalized at University Hospital in New Orleans, where he has been for the past two-and-a-half weeks, according to his sister-in-law, Lisa Spears.

Lisa Spears said Darren Spears showed symptoms of headaches, fever and neck pain more than two weeks ago. He was originally examined at LSU Bogalusa Medical Center and later transferred to University Hospital. Lisa Spears said her brother-in-law has been in the in the intensive care unit since the weekend of July 28.

Lisa Spears said the family received confirmation this past Friday afternoon that test results showed Darren Spears is in fact suffering from West Nile.

He has been on a respirator for the majority of his hospital stay but was briefly taken off this past weekend. However, Lisa Spears said Darren Spears suffered a seizure this past Saturday morning and was put back on the respirator, where he has remained since.

Please refer to www.gobogalusa.com for additional updates and read The Daily News on Wednesday for additional interviews.