What are the symptoms of West Nile virus infection?
Most infections produce no symptoms in people, or symptoms are mild or moderate. Symptoms may include: fever, headache, and body aches, often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe infections may be marked by headache, high fever, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, stupor, disorientation, convulsions, paralysis, coma, and, rarely, death.
A. Most people who are infected with the West Nile virus will not have any type of illness. It is estimated that only 20% of the people who become infected will develop West Nile fever: mild symptoms, including fever, headache, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands. The symptoms of severe infection (West Nile encephalitis or meningitis) include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. It is estimated that 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile virus will develop a more severe form of disease.
A. Most people who are infected with the West Nile Virus will not have any type of illness. It is estimated that 20% of the people who become infected will develop West Nile fever: mild symptoms, including fever, headache, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands. The symptoms of severe infection (West Nile encephalitis or meningitis) include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. It is estimated that 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile Virus will develop a more severe form of disease. Q. What is the incubation period in humans (i.e., time from infection to onset of disease symptoms) for West Nile encephalitis? A. Usually 3 to 14 days. Q. How long do symptoms last? A. Symptoms of West Nile fever will generally last a few days, although even some healthy people report having been sick for several weeks. Symptoms of severe disease (encephaliti
The virus can cause several forms of disease in humans, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. • Serious symptoms in a few people. About one in 150 people infected with West Nile will develop severe neuroinvasive disease: • West Nile encephalitis: inflammation of the brain • West Nile meningitis: inflammation of the membrane around the brain • West Nile meningoencephalitis: inflammation of the brain and the membrane surrounding it. Severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent. • Milder symptoms in some people. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms of West Nile Fever, such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as a few days,
