The Kerala health department is on alert after the death of a 47-year-old from Thrissur due to the West Nile Virus. The virus was first reported in the state in Alappuzha in 2006 and then in Ernakulam in 2011.
About:
The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
It is “a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae”.
Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories.
It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals. To date, no human-to-human transmission of WNV through casual contact has been documented.
The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people. In rest of the 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
This vector-borne disease can be prevented by protecting one-self from mosquito bites.
Other steps are wearing clothing that acts as a barrier to exposure to bites, reducing breeding sites, covering water storage containers and eliminating puddles and drainage of places where water accumulates.
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