Introduction:
West Nile Virus, belong to family Flaviridae is a virus transferred by mosquitoes which was first identified in Uganda in 1937 (2). It was perceived as public health threat with epidemics of fever and encephalitis in the Middle East in the 1950’s (3). Since then there has been many sporadic outbreak in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Middle East (3). The first human cases of WNV disease in the Western Hemisphere were detected in New York City in 1999(1
). By the end of 2005, virus has a very wide established sustained transmission geographical foci from central Canada to southern Argentina making it the most widely distributed Arbovirus in the world.
In United States, virus has become enzootic in all the geographic location and has been identified in more than 95 percent of the US counties. In US alone it has been found in 65 different species of mosquitoes. The most important vectors are Cx. pipiens in the northern part of the country, Cx. quinquefasciatus in the southern part, and Cx. tarsalis in the western part where it overlaps with the Cx. pipiens and quinquefasciatus.
As of now, there are no medications or vaccines to treat or prevent WNV infection. Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms and less than 1% of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal disease.
In 2012, there were 286 death out of 5,674 reported cases of West Nile Virus in 48 states (not including Hawaii and Alaska) across United States. Among the reported cases 51 percent (2,873) were neuro-invasive i.e. cases which resulted in meningitis, encephalitis, and or acute flaccid paralysis. In 2012, the number of the reported cases of west Nile virus has been all time high since 2003 and the number of death was the highes...
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...nclusion of laboratory testing leads to a lag time between the time of reporting and the time when the actual case occurred. The collection and reporting in case of non-human surveillance varies between different regions. Hence the data collected on non-human surveillance cannot be used to compare WNV activity between geographical areas
References
Nash D, Mostashari F, Fine A, Miller J, O'Leary D, Murray K, et al. The outbreak of West Nile virus infection in the New York City area in 1999. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:1807–14.
“WHO | West Nile Virus.” WHO. Accessed January 27, 2014. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs354/en/.
Liu, Rongsong, Jiangping Shuai, Jianhong Wu, and Huaiping Zhu. “Modeling Spatial Spread of West Nile Virus and Impact of Directional Dispersal of Birds.” Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering: MBE 3, no. 1 (January 2006): 145–160.
Rift Valley Fever was first reported around 1910, but was not identified until a Kenyan sheep farm was investigated after an epidemic in 1931.1, 2, 3, 5 The common name of the virus was derived from the area which it was identified, the Rift Valley of Kenya.1 A majority of the reported outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever have been contained to Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa.1, 3, 4 The most notable animal outbreak of Rift Valley Fever occurred in Kenya from 1950 to 1951.3, 4 This outbreak resulted in the death of approximately 100,000 sheep.3, 4 An outbreak in Egypt resulted in approximately 600 human deaths and a significant number of animal deaths in 1977.3, 4 In September of 2000, the first cases of Rift Valley Fever outside of Africa were confirmed in Saudi Arabia and later in Yemen.1, 2, 3, 4 Since the confirmation of the disease outside of Africa, Rift Valley Fever has been identified as a priority disease that has the potential to emerge geographically.2
Mosquitoes, fever and even death may be some of the things that come to mind when we're asked to think about West Nile Virus. Many of us would consider mosquitoes a small trade-off for what the summertime provides, but what if there were more at risk than a bump above your skin and an itch? In a not so distant past West Nile Virus ascended into news broadcasts all throughout the country and alarming it's residents. Today however, that all seems to be an afterthought. The intentions today are to cover the first found cases of West Nile Virus, the symptoms of West Nile Virus, and finally West Nile Virus' impact on the United States. Through the research here, the hope is that we can all have a better understanding of how West Nile Virus works.
The West Nile Virus first came to the U.S. public's attention following an outbreak in New York in August 1999 where eight patients has contracted ecephalitis from the virus. In the following four years the virus spread to almost all 48 contiguous states. In the United States cases were initially infrequent until 2002, when a massive outbreak occurred in the Mississippi River basin during August and September. As it has spread through the country, nearly 8,500 people have been diagnosed with the virus, which has lead to 189 deaths. The emergence of the new disease has been followed closely by the media and the government. Many areas that have experienced significant outbreaks of the Virus have occured have implem...
It is believed that this virus has been in hiding since ancient times. The lack of knowledge about it’s natural history and reservoirs keeps researchers seeking out the mysterious virus that has no treatment or cure. Based on the available evidence and comparisons of similar viruses, researchers believed the virus to be animal-borne and that the host animal is native to Africa. Their attempts have been unsuccessful, and the source of the virus or where it circulates in between outbreaks is unknown.
The first symptom my uncle experienced was a rash that covered his whole body, followed by flu-like symptoms. I recall my aunt saying she thought it was West Nile, but it took her a month to convince the doctors to run the test. Coincidentally, the first symptom my dad had was the same rash and flu-like symptoms, so my mom immediately suspected West Nile. Over a period of two weeks my dad saw three different emergency room physicians who all said it was not West Nile, even though they had not tested him for it. Eventually our family doctor was convinced to run the test and seven days later we had the diagnosis of West Nile Virus. After getting the diagnosis, my mom returned to all three of the emergency room physicians with a copy of my dad’s
In North America WNV virus occur during mosquito season (summer and ends in fall). There are no vaccines or medications to treat WNV. Most people that are infected with WNV do not show symptoms. Some cases of West Nile virus were spread by blood transfusions, breastfeeding,
There is a chance that Zika virus could become established in North American wildlife because of the rapid increase in the two invasive species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which are mainly accountable for the spread of zika virus in the Americas. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe brain defects. Also, A pregnant woman can pass Zika to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Additionally, a person with Zika can pass it to his or her sex partners. People who have traveled to or live in places with Zika should be encouraged to protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika.
Zika virus has been gaining notoriety due to the recent Rio Olympics. It is not a new disease, in fact, it has been around for a long time. The first recorded case of Zika virus infection was in Uganda in 1947. Previous research and press coverage on the disease highlighted microcephaly in babies as the main detrimental effect of Zika virus. The speaker aimed to show the other less known facts and effects of Zika virus during the seminar.
Although viral cases of WNV usually work themselves out, the more severe cases require hospitalization.1, 2 A serology test is most successful in diagnosing when taken between the eighth and twenty-first day after the appearance of symptoms. Blood tested for IgM antibodies before or after this period will most likely be inconclusive to the presence of the virus.2 Since there has been no overly effective anti-viral treatment discovered to date, hospitalization often is for patient support and monitoring. Pain medication and intravenous fluids are administered as needed for recovery.
Marburg Virus is an acute and fatal strand of Filoviridae, there should be a heightened awareness of this virus since it is the predecessor of Ebola and devastated the world first with hemorrhaging. There is no cure and it’s believed to be transferred from primate to human contact. While there has only been one case in the United States of America, this virus devastated Europe and Africa over the years.
Since Zika and West Nile have the same vectors, which are mosquitos, the same methods could be used for both diseases in order to address funding issues. State, tribal, local, and territorial governments have already planned for community readiness and engagement, day-to-day mosquito control, and the elimination of infected mosquito population to address vector-borne diseases, but the resources are lacking. The lack of resources is due to government leaders’ executive orders, proclamations, or emergency declarations that address public health issues that threaten the
It has been found that higher temperatures cause an increase in viral load in mosquitos and cause the incubation period to shorten. This makes the disease more prevalent in mosquitos and easier to transmit to other animals. Studies have also found that human West Nile Virus infection rates in the United States have increased with warmer temperature, elevated humidity, and heavy precipitation (Soverow). This is information that could possibly play into the study of increased bird transmissions due to higher temperatures,
Zika virus arrived in the United States last summer first reports in Brownsville, Texas and Miami, Florida. Causes birth defects on newborn baby’s that were born to some infected pregnant women. Baby’s are usually born with undeveloped heads and brain damage. Linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition where the immune system attacks the nerves. Mostly passed through mosquitos but can also be sexually transmitted. CDC advises pregnant women to postpone trips to south America Florida, South Texas or Mexico as this is where the disease mostly comes from. It was first identified in Uruguay in 1947. Transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, the same type of mosquito that carries dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya virus. Mosquitoes bite an infected
Dengue is the most common arboviral (arthropod-transmitted) disease and it also position as the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. Approximately 2.5 billion people living in tropical and sub-tropical regions are at a great risk of dengue infection, which is almost equal to about two-fifths of the human population (Gubler & Clark, 1995; WHO, 2009). There is an estimated 50-100 million infections occurring globally in each year, with 500,000 cases requiring hospitalization and causing 24,000 deaths (Halstead, 1988; WHO, 1997). Furthermore, the increasing populations in tropical and sub-tropical regions, making dengue as a global threat to public health (UNEP 2009; Holden, 2009).
Dengue fever, also known as the “breakbone fever”, is a vector-borne viral disease endemic in tropic and subtropic regions, with around 100 million symptomatic new cases each year worldwide15. It is caused by any one of the four closely-related serotypes or viruses that is spread by multiple species of mosquitoes, in particular the Aedes aegypti 6,13.