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New
Treatment for Patients with West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus
Overview of West Nile Virus
What is West Nile
virus?
West Nile Virus is a flavivirus.
This virus has been reported in Africa, West Asia,
and the Middle East. It is similar to St. Louis encephalitis virus The virus can infect humans, horses,
birds, mosquitoes, skunks, chipmunks, cats.
West Nile fever is characterized by flu-like
symptoms which include fever, headache, body aches, and occasionally
a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. West Nile fever typically lasts only a few days
and most mild cases don't cause any suspected long term health effects.
Incubation from the time
of exposure is 3-14 days.
Patients with the more severe
form of the disease due develop West Nile encephalitis, West Nile meningitis or West Nile meningoencephalitis. Encephalitis
is an inflammation of the brain, meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane
around the brain and the spinal cord, and meningoencephalitis is inflammation of the brain and the membrane surrounding it.
West Nile
virus has been reported in the United states since 1999 and has
slowing spread from the Eastern States towards the West
Coast.
West Nile virus has been reported to survive the winter
months in the mosquito species Culex.
This species has been shown to survive the winter months in the
adult mosquito stage
West Nile Virus Treatment Trials
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