West Nile Virus :: Biology Health Medical Essays

western United States Nile VirusLife HistoryWest Nile Virus, WNV, was first isolated in 1937 in the West Nile section of Uganda. It was the install in Egypt in the 1950s. It was first found to cause meningitis and encephalitis during an bang amongst elderly people in Israel in 1957. It was first found to taint other vertebrates (equine species) in France in the early 1960s. It did not cross everyplace to the US until 1999 and has now broadcast to 44 states. There acquire been 8219 cases in the US since then with 182 deaths. Connecticut has had 12 cases without a death.Microbial CharacteristicsWNV belongs to the computer virus family arboviruses, so called because they are arthropod-borne. The virion is about 40 nm in size. WNV is a +ssRNA virus. It is in some(prenominal) case an enveloped, icosahedral virus. Incubation period is about 3-14 days.TransmissionWNV is genetic by the female mosquito of the Culex species and can be transmitted to some(prenominal) vertebrates inclu ding birds, horses, dogs, cats, and humans. WNV has not been found to be transmitted through person-to-person abut or between any of the secondary carriers (i.e. birds to humans, etc.). It can be spread through blood transfusion, but this has only happened twice in the US.Symptoms closely people who are infected with West Nile virus either have no symptoms or experience mild illness such as fever, headache and body aches before fully recovering. Some persons may also develop a mild rash or swollen lymph glands. In some individuals, particularly the elderly, West Nile virus can cause unplayful disease that affects brain and spinal tissue. Severe illness may take on encephalitis, meningitis, and acute flaccid paralysis. Symptoms may include headache, high fever, stiff neck, confusion, coma, tremors, convulsions, and massiveness weakness or paralysis. At its most serious, West Nile virus cancause everlasting neurological damage or death. The fatality rate is 10-15% of t he only 1% that develop the more(prenominal) severe condition.Diagnosis diagnostic testing is usually only through with(p) on patients that acquire the more severe meningitis or encephalitis. A MAC-ELISA test is performed on the CSF to detect any virus specific IgM. A MAC-ELISA can also be done on serum samples to confirm viremia. Like many other rising viral diseases, this test is done when all other infections, bacterial or otherwise, are ruled out as the causitive agent. Diagnosis is based super on clinical suspicion.