West Nile Virus
Casual Agent
West Nile Virus is a part of the Flavivirdae family, genus Flavivirus (Gray & Webb 2014). A Flavivirus is a group of viruses that transmit diseases by arthropods. West Nile Virus is a mosquito borne virus. (Gray & Webb 2014). The West Nile Virus virion contains a linear, plus sense, single stranded RNA genome that is surrounded by an icosahedral capsid which is further surrounded by a lipid envelope (Gray & Webb 2014). The enveloped virus can enter the cells by endocytosis and result in fusion where the nucleocapsid gains entry into the cytoplasm. Replication starts in the the cytoplasm of the host cell and the RNA can be translated into a large protein which is then divided into smaller proteins. (Gray & Webb 2014). The assembled …show more content…
Only 20% of individuals actually show symptoms of West Nile Virus and the other 80% are asymptomatic (Petersen & Marfin 2002). The 20% developed West Nile fever where they experienced flu like symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, body aches, nausea, vomitting, and swollen lymph glands. About 1 in 150 people will develop a severe neurological disease such as West Nile Encephalitis and Meningitis. These symptoms are much worse such as high fever, stupor, coma, disorientation, muscle weakness, tremors, and paralysis (Petersen & Marfin 2002).Recovery for this severe disease could take up to several weeks or month, but some of the neurological effects could be permanent. About 10% of individuals will die from the severe neuroinvasive disease (CDC 2015). Many complications come with the severe disease such as intracranial pressures and seizures, cute neuromuscular respiratory failure, severe brain damage, and permanent muscle weakness (Hayes …show more content…
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2017. .
Hayes, Edward B., James J. Sejvar, Sherif R. Zaki, Robert S. Lanciotti, Amy V. Bode, and Grant L. Campbell. "Virology, Pathology, and Clinical Manifestations of West Nile Virus Disease." Emerging Infectious Diseases 11.8 (2005): 1174-179.
Petersen, Lyle R. "West Nile Virus: A Primer for the Clinician." Annals of Internal Medicine 137.3 (2002): 173.
Gray, Tim, and Cameron E. Webb. "A review of the epidemiological and clinical aspects of West Nile virus." International Journal of General Medicine (2014):
West Nile Virus is a part of the Flavivirdae family, genus Flavivirus (Gray & Webb 2014). A Flavivirus is a group of viruses that transmit diseases by arthropods. West Nile Virus is a mosquito borne virus. (Gray & Webb 2014). The West Nile Virus virion contains a linear, plus sense, single stranded RNA genome that is surrounded by an icosahedral capsid which is further surrounded by a lipid envelope (Gray & Webb 2014). The enveloped virus can enter the cells by endocytosis and result in fusion where the nucleocapsid gains entry into the cytoplasm. Replication starts in the the cytoplasm of the host cell and the RNA can be translated into a large protein which is then divided into smaller proteins. (Gray & Webb 2014). The assembled …show more content…
Only 20% of individuals actually show symptoms of West Nile Virus and the other 80% are asymptomatic (Petersen & Marfin 2002). The 20% developed West Nile fever where they experienced flu like symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, body aches, nausea, vomitting, and swollen lymph glands. About 1 in 150 people will develop a severe neurological disease such as West Nile Encephalitis and Meningitis. These symptoms are much worse such as high fever, stupor, coma, disorientation, muscle weakness, tremors, and paralysis (Petersen & Marfin 2002).Recovery for this severe disease could take up to several weeks or month, but some of the neurological effects could be permanent. About 10% of individuals will die from the severe neuroinvasive disease (CDC 2015). Many complications come with the severe disease such as intracranial pressures and seizures, cute neuromuscular respiratory failure, severe brain damage, and permanent muscle weakness (Hayes …show more content…
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2017. .
Hayes, Edward B., James J. Sejvar, Sherif R. Zaki, Robert S. Lanciotti, Amy V. Bode, and Grant L. Campbell. "Virology, Pathology, and Clinical Manifestations of West Nile Virus Disease." Emerging Infectious Diseases 11.8 (2005): 1174-179.
Petersen, Lyle R. "West Nile Virus: A Primer for the Clinician." Annals of Internal Medicine 137.3 (2002): 173.
Gray, Tim, and Cameron E. Webb. "A review of the epidemiological and clinical aspects of West Nile virus." International Journal of General Medicine (2014):