Health Tips

Facts about West Nile Virus

      From the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
       The West Nile virus has emerged in recent years in temperate regions of Europe and North America, presenting a threat to public health, as well as horse and bird health. The most serious outcome of infection is encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis can be deadly for humans, horses, and certain domestic and wild birds.
Transmission
      People get the West Nile virus by the bite of a mosquito that is infected with West Nile virus. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which may circulate the virus in their blood for a few days. After an incubation period of 10 days to two weeks, infected mosquitoes can then transmit West Nile virus to humans and animals when biting to take blood.

Risks
      All residents of areas where virus activity has been identified are at risk of getting West Nile encephalitis. Persons more than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease. Fatality rates range from three percent to 15 percent and are highest among the elderly. The risk for infection is a specific region ends when mosquito activity ceases for the season, for example when sustained freezing temperatures occur.
When the first virus activity is detected in a community, prior to the occurrence of human disease, rapid mosquito control measures should be implemented. Prior to August 1999, West Nile virus had never been reported in the United States. In 1999, 62 cases of severe disease, including seven deaths, occurred in the New York area. Since then, the virus has been reported in Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Symptoms
      Most infections are mild, and symptoms include fever, headache, and body aches, often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Following transmission by an infected mosquito, the West Nile virus multiples in a person’s cells, spilling into the blood stream. In severe infections, these virus particles may cross into the brain where they can interfere with normal central nervous system functioning. Severe infections may be marked by neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, paralysis, and death in rare instances.
Prevention
      If exposure to mosquitoes is anticipated, insect repellents should be applied to clothing and skin, according to label instructions. Avoid or prevent pooling stagnant water where mosquitoes breed. Stay indoors at dawn, dusk, and early evening. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors. Vitamin B and “ultrasonic” devices are not effective in preventing mosquito bites. Currently, no vaccine exists for the West Nile virus.

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