west nile felicia henderson. history west nile virus is an emerging infectious disease that was...
TRANSCRIPT
HISTORY
West Nile virus is an emerging infectious disease that was first discovered in the African country of Uganda in 1937, and in recent years has spread beyond its traditional boundaries, causing illness in birds, horses, and humans in Europe and now the United States. It was first discovered in the U.S. in 1999 in New York City. Since that time, WNV has been detected in humans, animals, and mosquitoes in 47 states from coast to coast.
West Nile virus is a disease spread by mosquitoes. The condition ranges from mild to severe.
FIRST OCCURRED West Nile virus was first identified in 1937 in Uganda in eastern Africa. It was first discovered in the United States in the summer of 1999 in New York.
HOW ITS TRANSMITTED
The first step in the transmission cycle of West Nile virus (WNV) happens when a mosquito bites an infected bird or animal and gets the virus while feeding on the animal's blood. The infected mosquito can then transmit the virus to another bird or animal when it feeds again.
Crows are highly susceptible to lethal infection, as are robins, blue jays, and other birds. Scientists have identified more than 138 bird species that can be infected and more than 43 mosquito species that can transmit WNV.
Although the virus usually cycles between mosquitoes and birds, infected female mosquitoes also can transmit WNV through their bites to humans and other "incidental hosts," such as horses. With so many susceptible hosts to amplify the virus and so many types of mosquitoes to transmit it, WNV has spread rapidly across the United States.
Most cases of human disease occur in elderly people and in people with impaired immune systems. In a very small number of cases, WNV has been spread through blood transfusions, organ transplants, breastfeeding and even during pregnancy from mother to baby, according to the CDC.
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms may occur 1 to 14 days after becoming infected. Mild disease, generally called West Nile fever, may cause some or all of the following symptoms:
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Fever
Headache
Lack of appetite
Muscle aches
Nausea
Rash
Sore throat
Swollen lymph nodes
Vomiting
These symptoms usually last for 3 - 6 days, but may last a month.
MORBIDITY RATE
Clinical cases caused by WNV usually occur seasonally.
Birds are mainly affected from summer to late fall, and cases
in horses peak in late summer and fall. Occasional outbreaks
may be seen when mosquitoes are absent, in species that can
transmit the virus horizontally. In the U.S., one outbreak
occurred among crows during the winter. WNV isolates
differ in their virulence for birds, and only some viruses
cause severe illness or death. Different patterns of disease
have been reported among avian species in the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres.
TREATMENT
No specific treatment is available, but animals may
recover on their own if they are given supportive care.
Supportive treatment has the goal of reducing inflammation
in the CNS, preventing self-inflicted injuries and adverse
effects from recumbency, and providing supportive
nutrition and fluids. Therapy is empiric, and similar to the
treatment of other causes of viral encephalomyelitis. Mild
cases have sometimes recovered without treatment.
Cumulative Total Entire Country: 2,374
Kansas 85
Kentucky 3
Louisiana 54
Maryland 16
Massachusetts 8
Michigan 36
Minnesota 79
Mississippi 45
Missouri 29
Montana 38
Nebraska 221
Nevada 11
New Hampshire 1
New Jersey 11
Alabama 7
Arizona 41
Arkansas 18
California 368
Colorado 318
Connecticut 4
Delaware 3
District of Columbia 1
Florida 5
Georgia 6
Idaho 40
Illinois 116
Indiana 22
Iowa 44
Vermont 2
Virginia 6
Washington 1
Wisconsin 22
Wyoming 41
STORY
West Nile virus infects mosquitoes, birds, and people with very different consequences.
Fever
Infection
STORY TIME
A 17-year-old Menifee girl stricken with West Nile Encephalitis died Wednesday, more than four years after she fell ill.
Lauren Ashley Miller contracted West Nile virus in 2004, at age 13, after mosquito bites showed up on her legs. She later developed encephalitis and her brain swelled, leaving her in a mostly vegetative state.
So basically, West Nile can lead to other illnesses depending on the severity of it and you can have it longer than a few weeks before death.
http://westnilesurvivorstories.blogspot.com/
SOURCES
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/westnile/faq.html
http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/west_nile_fever.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004457/
http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-25805-75265--,00.html