{"id":10538,"date":"2024-08-01T09:03:52","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T09:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=10538"},"modified":"2024-08-01T09:24:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T09:24:22","slug":"what-to-know-about-west-nile-virus-symptoms-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=10538","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About West Nile Virus: Symptoms and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">Infections, which can cause fever and fatigue, tend to peak in August and September.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One evening in July 2003, Dr. Lyle Petersen stepped out of his home in Fort Collins, Colo., to pick up the mail. He ended up staying out longer than expected to chat with his neighbor. But when they both got being bitten by mosquitoes, they rushed back indoors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Three days later, Dr. Petersen began to feel extremely fatigued. He developed a fever and a severe headache, and his muscles began to ache. \u201cI was in bed for a week,\u201d said Dr. Petersen, the director of the division of vector-borne diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u201cIt\u2019s the sickest I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Around day 7, a rash appeared on his skin. Given his expertise, Dr. Petersen suspected the cause. A blood test later confirmed he had been infected with West Nile virus, the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the country.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4e6ba179\">What is West Nile virus disease?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The virus is largely carried by Culex mosquitoes in the United States. Female mosquitoes spread the virus when they bite a bird infected with the virus and then bite a person. Many people who are infected don\u2019t get sick. But about <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice\/climate-change-health-equity\/climate-health-outlook\/west-nile\/index.html#:~:text=Approximately%2080%25%20of%20people%20infected,death%20or%20long%2Dterm%20disability.\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">20 percent develop a fever<\/a>, \u201cwhich ranges from pretty mild to pretty awful,\u201d Dr. Petersen said. Other common symptoms include headaches, fever, tiredness, muscle aches, eye pain and skin rashes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most people recover within a few days, but some continue to experience extreme exhaustion for weeks to months. Dr. Petersen, for example, couldn\u2019t walk up the stairs of his house without feeling fatigued for nearly three months after his infection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In rare cases, the illness can lead to a severe neurological disease, causing paralysis, meningitis and brain damage. Those who are severely affected tend to be older and often immunocompromised. About <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/west-nile-virus\/symptoms-diagnosis-treatment\/index.html#:~:text=Recovery%20from%20severe%20illness%20might,the%20central%20nervous%20system%20die.\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">1 in 10 people who develop these neurological problems die<\/a> from the disease.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F01%2Fwell%2Fmosquitoes-west-nile-virus-symptoms.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F01%2Fwell%2Fmosquitoes-west-nile-virus-symptoms.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F01%2Fwell%2Fmosquitoes-west-nile-virus-symptoms.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F01%2Fwell%2Fmosquitoes-west-nile-virus-symptoms.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Infections, which can cause fever and fatigue, tend to peak in August and September.One evening in July 2003, Dr. Lyle Petersen stepped out of his home in Fort Collins, Colo., to pick up the mail. He ended up staying out longer than expected to chat with his neighbor. But when they both got being bitten by mosquitoes, they rushed back indoors.Three days later, Dr. Petersen began to feel extremely fatigued. He developed a fever and a severe headache, and his muscles began to ache. \u201cI was in bed for a week,\u201d said Dr. Petersen, the director of the division of vector-borne diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u201cIt\u2019s the sickest I\u2019ve ever been.\u201dAround day 7, a rash appeared on his skin. Given his expertise, Dr. Petersen suspected the cause. A blood test later confirmed he had been infected with West Nile virus, the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the country.What is West Nile virus disease?The virus is largely carried by Culex mosquitoes in the United States. Female mosquitoes spread the virus when they bite a bird infected with the virus and then bite a person. Many people who are infected don\u2019t get sick. But about 20 percent develop a fever, \u201cwhich ranges from pretty mild to pretty awful,\u201d Dr. Petersen said. Other common symptoms include headaches, fever, tiredness, muscle aches, eye pain and skin rashes.Most people recover within a few days, but some continue to experience extreme exhaustion for weeks to months. Dr. Petersen, for example, couldn\u2019t walk up the stairs of his house without feeling fatigued for nearly three months after his infection.In rare cases, the illness can lead to a severe neurological disease, causing paralysis, meningitis and brain damage. Those who are severely affected tend to be older and often immunocompromised. About 1 in 10 people who develop these neurological problems die from the disease.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10540,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10541,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10538\/revisions\/10541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}