What is West Nile Fever? Check symptoms, treatment, and prevention of mosquito-borne disease

New Delhi: In Kerala’s Thrissur, a 47-year-old reportedly died due to West Nile fever last week. This has raised concern among the health authorities. This is said to be the second death due to the virus in the state after 2019.

The disease infects people after they are bit by an infected mosquito. However, mosquitoes are not the primary source of the virus. The virus is a member of the Flavivirus family, which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever.

Now let’s dive into detail to know more about the virus and disease:

What is West Nile fever?

West Nile fever comes from the West Nile virus, which is a single-stranded RNA virus. The mosquito that spreads the virus amongst humans is known as the Culex mosquito. They are found in north and south India. However, the primary source of the virus is birds. They are the natural host for the virus.

Notably, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not found any cases of the West Nile virus transmitted human to human. Moreover, the mosquitoes can also transmit the virus to animals.

What are the symptoms of West Nile fever?

The common symptoms of West Nile fever include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and sometimes swollen glands. In some cases, the infected person may develop stiffness in the neck, coma, tremors, convulsions, disorientation, muscle, weakness, vision loss, numbness, and paralysis.

The severity of the fever may go up if the person is over the age of 60 and his immune system is also weak. However, death due to the virus is reported in less than 1% of cases.

Prevention and treatment of West Nile fever

So far, there is no vaccine or specific treatment available for the disease. Doctors recommend wearing full-length clothes, reducing breeding sites of the mosquito, covering water storage containers, eliminating puddles, and don’t let leave accumulated water in open for so long.