The Kerala state health authorities have stepped up vigil against West Nile fever, after a six year old boy, from AR Nagar panchayat in the Malappuram district succumbed to the disease around 0300 hrs yesterday.
So, what's West Nile fever?
It's a disease spread by West Nile Virus(WNV) that can cause neurological disease and death in people.
Transmission.
* Human infection is, most often, the result of bites from infested mosquitoes.
* Culex mosquitoes are the principal vectors of WNV.
* Mosquitoes transmit this virus by biting an infected bird and later biting a person.
* A very small proportion of human infections have occurred through organ transplant, blood
transfusions and breast milk.
* There is one reported case of transplacental (mother-to-child) WNV transmission.
Symptoms.
* Almost 80% of people who are infected will not show any symptoms.
* Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and body aches, nausea and vomiting.
* The incubation period is usually 3 to 14 days.
Who are at risk?
* Severe illness can occur in people of any age; people aged over 60 are at greater risk.
* People with certain medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and
people who have undergone organ transplants are also at greater risk.
Treatment.
* No vaccine or specific antiviral treatment are available.
* In severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalised to receive supportive treatment such as
intravenous fluids, pain medication and nursing care.
Outbreaks.
* The virus was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. It was
identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953. Largest outbreaks occurred in Greece, Israel,
Romania, Russia and the USA. It is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North
America and West Asia.
* In Kerala, the prevalence of the virus was noted during the Chikungunya outbreak in Alappuzha
and Kottayam in 2006. Last year, the virus was confirmed in a 24 year-old-woman in Kozhikode.
She recovered following treatment.
Prevention.
* Effective mosquito surveillance and control programmes.
Tailpiece.
We'd got up with the alarm, gone through our chores and were ready well in time. Lekha's elder sister, Letha, her son, Anand and his wife, Aarcha had dropped by around lunch time. They all went to the Guruvayur and the Mammiyoor temples in the evening.
So, what's West Nile fever?
It's a disease spread by West Nile Virus(WNV) that can cause neurological disease and death in people.
Transmission.
* Human infection is, most often, the result of bites from infested mosquitoes.
* Culex mosquitoes are the principal vectors of WNV.
* Mosquitoes transmit this virus by biting an infected bird and later biting a person.
* A very small proportion of human infections have occurred through organ transplant, blood
transfusions and breast milk.
* There is one reported case of transplacental (mother-to-child) WNV transmission.
Symptoms.
* Almost 80% of people who are infected will not show any symptoms.
* Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and body aches, nausea and vomiting.
* The incubation period is usually 3 to 14 days.
Who are at risk?
* Severe illness can occur in people of any age; people aged over 60 are at greater risk.
* People with certain medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and
people who have undergone organ transplants are also at greater risk.
Treatment.
* No vaccine or specific antiviral treatment are available.
* In severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalised to receive supportive treatment such as
intravenous fluids, pain medication and nursing care.
Outbreaks.
* The virus was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. It was
identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953. Largest outbreaks occurred in Greece, Israel,
Romania, Russia and the USA. It is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North
America and West Asia.
* In Kerala, the prevalence of the virus was noted during the Chikungunya outbreak in Alappuzha
and Kottayam in 2006. Last year, the virus was confirmed in a 24 year-old-woman in Kozhikode.
She recovered following treatment.
Prevention.
* Effective mosquito surveillance and control programmes.
Tailpiece.
We'd got up with the alarm, gone through our chores and were ready well in time. Lekha's elder sister, Letha, her son, Anand and his wife, Aarcha had dropped by around lunch time. They all went to the Guruvayur and the Mammiyoor temples in the evening.
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