Bay State health officials are reporting the first confirmed case of West Nile virus in an animal this year, as people are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites. A goat was recently exposed to the virus in Lunenburg in Worcester County, the Department of Public Health announced on Tuesday.

Two mosquito test samples taken from Hyde Park and West Roxbury have tested positive for West Nile Virus, the Boston Public Health Commission announced Friday. There currently aren’t any confirmed human cases, and the commission told Boston residents the risk of transmission is low. But it encouraged protective steps be taken.

Warming trends across North America have helped establish West Nile virus (WNV) as an endemic disease in New York state, and in the future continued climate change will help increase transmissibility of the virus, according to new research published late last week in Scientific Reports.