West Nile Virus Research Paper

West Nile Virus is a member of the genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae, made up of viruses that are routinely spread through arthopod vectors. More specifically, it is associated with the Japanese Encephelitis antigenic complex, which is included in the genus Flavivirus, and home to eight pathogen-causing virus species. It is a single-stranded, positive RNA virus surrounded by an enveloped capsid that is around 50nm in diameter. It has the ability to infect birds, mosquitoes, humans, horses, and other mammals, with birds being the primary vector and mammals as incidental hosts. The virus was first detected in the West Nile region of Uganda in 1937 but a woman who was experiencing an unusually high fever. The ecology of the disease

The now infected mosquito spreads the disease through a continued cycle between mosquitoes and birds. In some cases a female mosquito will bite a human, horse, or other mammal and infect them with the virus, although, these dead end hosts are not able to pass it on to other incidental hosts. There have been a small number of cases documented in which the virus was transmitted through an alternative route, such as blood transfusions, exposure in a laboratory setting, and between a mother and her baby, but these are extremely rare occurrences and not considered the primary route of transmission. When a mosquito bites a human they are essentially transmitting the West Nile Virus into the bloodstream and it then enters the body’s cells. When this happens, the virus destroys the cells and manufactures more of itself using the body’s DNA and machinery then spreads to other parts. Depending on what part of the body gets infected, that is where the infected host will begin to see symptoms. The incubation period may be as short as 2 days or last up to 14

Around 20% will develop a mild infection called West Nile Fever that is accompanied by possible fever, headache, body aches, fatigue, back pain, and occasionally skin rash, swollen lymph glands, and eye pain. Less than 1% of those infected can develop a serious neurological infection. These may include encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, meningitis, West Nile poliomyelitis, and acute flaccid paralysis. The signs of these infections may include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, disorientation or confusion, stupor or coma, tremors or muscle jerking, lack of coordination, convulsions, pain, and partial paralysis or sudden muscle weakness. Mild symptoms can last for weeks or months and serious neurological symptoms can last anywhere from a few weeks, to permanent. Around 10% of serious neurological infections due to West Nile Virus are