What are the symptoms of West Nile fever?
Most people who are infected have no symptoms or may experience mild illness such as a fever and headache before fully recovering. In some individuals, particularly the elderly, West Nile virus can cause serious disease that affects the central nervous system. At its most serious, it can cause permanent neurological damage and can be fatal. Symptoms generally occur 5-15 days following the bit of an infected mosquito, and range from a slight fever, headache, rash, swollen nodes and conjunctivitis (irritation of the lining of the eye) to the rapid onset of severe headache, high fever, stiff neck, disorientation and muscle weakness. If I live in an area where birds with West Nile virus have been reported and I am bitten by a mosquito am I likely to get sick? No. Even in areas where mosquitoes do carry the virus, very few mosquitoes (usually less than 1 out of 500) are infected. The chance that one mosquito bite will be from an infected mosquito is very small. If bitten by an infected mosq
