WEST NILE VIRUSRebecca Pu and Samhitha Sunkara

WHAT IS THE WEST NILE VIRUS?

Type of virus known as flavivirus and arbovirus (mosquito-borne virus)

mainly infecting birds and mosquitos They transmit it to humans and other animals causes flu-like symptoms (West Nile fever) Has no known treatment can lead to brain inflammation You know you have it if: fever, headache, muscle

weakness, encephalitis or meningitis Been around for 76 years

HISTORY OF WEST NILE VIRUS

disease started in West Nile Province of Uganda in 1937 from womanOutbreaks began in Middle East and Africafirst documented in North America during 1999 NY outbreakSource to NY = migrating birds, mosquitoes, immigrants

HOW THE DISEASE IS SPREAD

actually not spread from person to person

Unless possibly from pregnant mother to baby spread through infected

mosquitoes Mosquito gets infected from

feeding on infected bird virus gets into person that

mosquito bites

SYMPTOMS FOR THE MILDLY ILL

20% of infected have mild symptomsFever headache abdominal painbody aches nausea vomitingdiarrhea lack of appetite nausearash sore throat

Swollen lymph nodes80% people show no symptomsmilder symptoms last 3-16 days

SYMPTOMS FOR THE SERIOUSLY ILL

usually occur within 3- 14 days1/150 people infected develop serious illness. serious symptoms include

High fever headache neck stiffnessdisorientation coma tremorsconvulsions muscle weakness vision loss numbness paralysis confusionbrain inflammationsymptoms can last several months

CURRENT RESEARCH

Pasteur Institute in Paris found a West Nile gene West Nile gene allows the virus to continue

reproducing Lab in Fort Collins sorts out mosquitoes

to track source bugs are tested to know:

rate at which the virus is spreading where pesticides are needed whether the pesticides are effective or not

TREATMENT OF THE DISEASE

No cure, no vaccine, no specific treatment Mild case treatment = resting, drinking, and

medicine to relieve fever and discomfort severe cases = hospital’s supportive care hospital helps body fight disease on its own Necessary fluids given through an IV vein ventilators help breathing Medications for seizures, nausea, vomiting,

or brain swelling

WHO IS MOST SUSCEPTIBLE

Very old people Very young people People with high blood pressure People with diabetes

WORKS CITED

Abramovitz, Melissa. West Nile Virus. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2004. Print

Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "West Nile Virus." PubMed Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Jan. 0001. Web. 11 Feb. 2013

Considine, Glenn D., and Peter H. Kulik. Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience, 2002. Prin

WORKS CITED

“Questions and Answers." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013

“West Nile Virus Facts." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

"West Nile Virus Treatment." West Nile Virus Treatment. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

WORKS CITED

"West Nile Virus: What You Need To Know." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2013

"West Nile Virus-Treatment Overview." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013

WHITMAN, JAKE. "West Nile Virus: Fighting the Largest Outbreak in U.S. History." ABC News. ABC News Network, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2013