West Nile Virus

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West Nile Virus

• By Andrew Mershon
• Health 6th period

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Population and Systems of the body most affected

• Any one can get it, but mostly people who do a
  lot of outside activities

• The systems of the body most affected by the
  infection are the brain and the spinal cord

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Signs and Symptoms

• Either no signs or symptoms or a mild flu-like
  symptoms
• Can turn into a very bad flu like sickness and
  could have very high fever

4
Causes and Prevention

• West Nile Virus is generally transmitted through
  the bite of a mosquito that has been infected
  with the virus

• How you prevent West Nile Virus is to not go
  outside as much so you can limit the time you
  stay exposed to mosquito

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Potential use for weapon and Method of
Transmission

• It does have a potential use for a weapon. It is
  said that Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein have
  made a bioterrorist weapon with the virus

• It is transmitted by a mosquito that bites you
  while infected with the virus

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Treatment and Prognosis

• There are no specific therapies for the WNV
  infection that currently exist supportive care
  is generally the only treatment for those who
  have been infected

• Infection with WNV not only may cause short-term
  illness, but it also may have lingering effects
  on the brain in a small number of people

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How Diagnosed

• If you have WNV symptoms, the doctors will test
  your blood for antibodies to the virus, a sign
  that you have been infected. If the test is
  positive with immunoglobulin M and G, then they
  will do more specific tests to determine if you
  have it. Or they could also do a spinal tap which
  looks for antibodies and signs of infection in
  the cerebral spinal fluid, which surrounds the
  brain and spinal cord.

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PICTURE
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PICTURE
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Sources

• http//www.healthline.com/channel/west-nile-virus.
  html
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/westnile.htm
• http//www.webmd.com
• Source for a picture is http//www.cdc.gov/node.d
  o/id/0900f3ec8000e035