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West Nile virus symptoms and treatment


Information about symptoms of West Nile virus and what can be done about it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • About one in five people who contract West Nile virus will develop West Nile fever. Common symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and body aches. Less common symptoms include skin rashes on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands.

  • About one in 150 people who contract the virus will get severe cases, including neuroinvasive disease, which attacks the nervous system. Symptoms include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. These include varieties of encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain, and meningitis, an inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord. People older than 50 and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk.

  • Most people, about four in five, will not develop any symptoms at all despite contracting the virus.

  • The incubation period from the time of exposure to the time symptoms arrive can be between two and 15 days.

  • Most symptoms will last a few days. Some can last several weeks, and the impacts from severe neuroinvasive cases can be permanent.

  • There is no treatment for West Nile virus infections themselves, but people with severe cases might need to be hospitalized and given intravenous fluids and respiratory support. Details are at www.cdc.gov.

    • Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_21330016/west-nile-virus-symptoms-and-treatment

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    This entry was posted on August 20, 2012, 6:54 pm and is filed under virus and malware info. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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