A boy from Malappuram district, Kerala has been
diagnosed with West Nile fever. The West Nile fever is a zoonotic diseases.
Zoonotic diseases are those that are naturally transmissible from vertebrate
animals to humans.
West Nile fever is caused by the West Nile
Virus. Birds are the natural hosts of West Nile virus (WNV).
According to world Health Organization (WHO) West
Nile virus transmits to humans through bites from infected Culex mosquitoes. Mosquitoes
become infected when they feed on infected birds.
Horses and humans are “dead-end” hosts. It
implies that while they become infected, they do not spread the infection.
According to WHO, no human-to—human transmission from casual contact has not
been documented.
Symptoms of White Nile fever include fever,
headache, tiredness, and body aches, nausea, vomiting. It can cause fatal
neurological disease in humans.
West Nile Virus was first isolated in a woman in
the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. An epidemic of WNV was reported in
humans in Israel in 1951.
West Nile Virus is commonly found in Africa,
Europe, Middle East, West Asia and North America.
