West Nile Virus By Daniel Petronis and Jake Reid

Definition of the Disease West Nile Disease is viral It attacks the central nervous system and can weaken muscles. The disease has been around for 75 years. You know you have it when you have a high fever, swollen lymph node glands and headaches. Less than 1% of people infected develop a severe illness like encephalitis.

Who is susceptible? No one has a particular immunity to the disease Generally the weaker your immune system the more likely you are to develop the disease People over 50 have a more likely chance to develop severe symptoms.

History of the Disease The illness originated in Africa, in the West Nile Region of Uganda. The first outbreak was in Israel in The main source of infection is birds in the West Nile region. The birds then pass it on to the mosquitoes.

Symptoms Headache Fever Tiredness Body Aches Coma (in severe cases) Paralysis (in severe cases) The symptoms can appear from within 2 to 15 days.

How it is spread Birds originally carry the disease. Mosquitoes feed on infected birds. It mainly occurs when infected mosquitoes bite humans. Special cases can occur when the virus can be spread from person to person, but they are very rare.

Diagrams

Works Cited Abramovitz, Melissa. West Nile Virus. San Diego, CA: Lucent, Print. "West Nile Virus." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 12 Feb ` "West Nile Virus Information." Official Website of Washtenaw County, MI. Washtenaw County, n.d. Web. 12 Feb