By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
1:58 PM PDT, July 18, 2008

Two Orange County residents have been diagnosed with West Nile virus, the first cases of the disease in Southern California this year, health officials said today.

An 80-year-old Anaheim man who fell ill in early July and a 49-year-old central Orange County woman who became sick in late June remain hospitalized, said Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman Howard Sutter. The woman's infection may have been acquired during travel outside the county, he said.

Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer?

While parts of the U.S. are suffering another summer of drought, the Midwest is hoping to begin recovering from devastating floods. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and numerous county officials in the flood-ravaged communities have issued warnings about the dangers that lurk in the water and prohibited residents from returning to their homes (or what's left of them).