Sandbox Rim
West Nile fever infection can present with a variety of manifestation according to the severity of the diseases. West Nile fever infection has three different clinical presentations in humans.
- Asymptomatic infection
- Mild febrile syndrome termed West Nile Fever (febrile stage has an incubation period of 3-8 days). All symptoms are resolved within 7-10 days, although fatigue can last for some weeks and lymphadenopathy can take up to two months to resolve.[1]
- Neuroinvasive disease termed West Nile meningitis or encephalitis.[2]
In infected individuals the ratio between the three states is roughly 110:30:1.[3]
It is estimated that approximately 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile virus will develop a more severe form of disease. Serious illness can occur in people of any age, however people over the age of 50 and some immunocompromised persons (for example, transplant patients) are at the highest risk for getting severely ill when infected with WNV. The incubation period is usually 3 to 14 days.
- ↑ Olejnik E. "Infectious adenitis transmitted by Culex molestus." Bull. Res. Counc. Isr. 1952; 2: 210-211.
- ↑ Smithburn K C, Jacobs H R. "Neutralization-tests against neurotropic viruses with sera collected in central Africa." Journal of Immunology 1942; 44: 923.
- ↑ Tsai T F, Popovici F, Cernescu C, Campbell G L, Nedelcu N I. "West Nile encephalitis epidemic in south eastern Romania." Lancet 1998; 352: 767-771