West Nile Virus

What is West Nile Virus?
  • West Nile Virus is a viral infection which typically spread by mosquitoes and results in neurological disease as well as death in people.
  • The Virus is the member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.
  • It was first detected in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937 and was later identified in birds (crows and Columbiformes) in the Nile delta region in 1953.
Spread of Disease
  • The disease spreads through mosquito bites.
  • Mosquitoes are infected when they feed on infected birds.
  • The virus then circulates in blood and multiplies.
  • The virus also travels to salivary glands from where it is injected into humans as well as animals through mosquito bites.
  • There have been no reports of human-to-human transmission through casual contact till date.
  • But a small proportion of human infections have reported through organ transplant, blood transfusions and breast milk while one case of transplacental.
Symptoms
  • People infected with WNV suffer from fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, vomiting, occasionally with a skin rash (on the trunk of the body) and swollen lymph glands.
  • In case of severe West Nile disease, the patient suffers from headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, stupor, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.
  • One in 150 persons infected with the virus will develop a severe form of the disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  • There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat the infection.

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