The state Department of Health said Tuesday that the virus, which has been spreading in China and elsewhere, was identified in a person living in Nassau County on Long Island.

A person living in New York has tested positive for the chikungunya virus in what state health officials say is the first reported transmission of the mosquito-borne illness within the United States in six years

The state Department of Health said Tuesday that the virus, which has been spreading in China and elsewhere, was identified in a person living in Nassau County on Long Island.

The county’s health department, in a separate statement, said the person began experiencing symptoms in August after having traveled outside of the region, but not out of the country.