Fighting The West Nile Virus Essay

West Nile Virus has emerged in recent years throughout the temporate zones of Europe and North America. Causing a variety of conditions in its hosts, the most serious manifestation of WN virus infection is fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and horses, and many birds.

Individuals with mild symptoms of West Nile Virus make up about twenty percent of the populations of infected humans. This form of the disease is known as West Nile Fever. The symptoms of West Nile Fever include: fever, headache, tiredness, body aches, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands, and a skin rash appearing on the back, chest or stomach. A headache and high fever are the most common indicators for a West Nile Virus infection. These mild symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. (California Government, 2005).

West Nile Virus (WNV) was originally detected from a woman in Uganda in 1937. WNV first appeared in the United States in 1999 in New York which was the first incident in the Western Hemisphere. WNV is a mosquito-borne virus (arbovirus). It is in the flavivirus family. WNV is a neurotropic virus. WNV is a member of the Japanese encephalitis virus. Severe encephalitis outbreaks in humans have been escalating. The means by which the virus gains access to the brain (also known as neuroinvasion) seems inadequately understood. Suggestions of the hypothesis of WNV leans towards the concept of blood-brain barrier disruption and retrograde axonal transport (Suen et al., 2014)

The West Nile Virus is a virus that people can get from an infected mosquito bite. This virus disappeared and no one heard much of many people getting the virus for about 20 years. In the 1990´s there was a big comeback on the rise for the West Nile Virus. That also consisted of the infected bugs slowly but surely making their way to America from Africa, the Native country to this virus (Phillip).

The Iowa Department of Public Health has confirmed a rare case of disease caused by the Jamestown Canyon virus. In addition, there are two cases has been reported to the Iowa’s Health Department about West Nile Virus, which is also an illness spread by mosquitoes, along with Jamestown Canyon virus. According to the author, people who are infected by these two viruses will experience: “fever, headache, and flulike illness.” Luckily, however, “the patients who had Jamestown Canyon virus and West Nile virus are slowly recovering.”

Lower return crops such as corn, wheat, cotton and rice will bear the brunt of this whereas the higher return crops such as nuts, citrus and vine crops will be least affected (Kowalski, 2015).

The main point of the press release is to notify the public that the West Nile Virus has surfaced and is active. One of the sub-points is to inform the public of the current case and the number of cases over the years of people who have been infected with the West Nile Virus. Another sub-point is to give the description and signs of the West Nile Virus. Another sub-point is to notify the public where the West Nile Virus is coming from. Another sub-point what is causing the mosquitoes to breed and how to prevent the breeding of the mosquitoes to notify the public that there are two types of West Nile Virus. The West Nile encephalitis and the West Nile poliomyelitis are the two viruses the press release also notified the public of the signs and symptoms of the west Nile virus. What to do and who to contact once bitten the press release gives a statistic of number of cases from 2002 to 2011 (2012). The press release also notifies the public who is at the highest risk to becoming ill with this type of virus. The press release also gives other website to seek out more information regarding the West Nile Virus.

Zika virus was discovered by scientists in the Zika rainforest in a remote part of Uganda in 1947, in the serum of an infected rheseus monkey. With five thousand two hundred thirty- four known cases of the infectious virus documented in the United States. There is currently no vaccination for the flu like virus. The chief concern of the healthcare administration is to continue to take preventive measures to prevent contracting the virus. Within the same flavivirus family

The Symptoms of West Nile virus: West Nile virus, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, can produce flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, body aches, and skin rash (MedicineNet.com, 2015). While most infected individuals have mild disease and recover spontaneously, infection can be serious or even fatal. There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus (MEdicineNet.com, 2015). The Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Initial symptoms may include fever, nausea, vomiting, severe headache, muscle pain, and lack of appetite. The characteristic red, spotted rash of Rocky Mountain spotted fever is usually not seen until the sixth day or later after symptoms begin. As many as 10% to 15 % of patients may never develop a rash (Traveldoctor.com, 2015). Rocky Mountain spotted fever is treated with antibiotics. Signs of infection: It is normal for a bite or sting to result in redness of the affected area and minor swelling, but if a bite or sting becomes infected, a fever may develop or the redness or soreness may worsen. In cases of infection, an antibiotic is the typical treatment (Traveldoctor.com,

What is West Nile Fever? West Nile fever also known as West Nile virus is a mosquito borne disease transferred from mosquito to person. Encephalitis is a disease that West nile virus can cause. What encephalitis does is it causes inflammation of the brain which in some cases can be fatal. The west Nile virus wasn’t discovered until 1937 in Africa. The disease didn’t make its way into the United States until 1999. The Virus is most common during the summer months (July- September) which is when mosquitos the carrier of the disease are most active. But in some states it is at risk all year round. Most people who are bitten and infected even receive the virus.

The Yellow Fever virus came from Central or East Africa. With transmission between primates and humans, the virus has been spread from there to West Africa. The virus was probably brought to the Americas with the slave trade ships from 1492 after the first European exploration. The first case of Yellow fever was recorded in Mexico by Spanish colonists in 1648. Consequently, the virus started to spread also in North America. In Philadelphia in 1793, more than the 9% of the population die. The American government had to escape from the city that was the temporary capital. One of the most famous outbreaks happen in Europe in Barcelona in 1821.How explains the article "The 'plague' of Barcelona. Yellow Fever epidemic of 1821", the outbreak of

This case study I debated between a couple of different diseases but ultimately decided to chose the topic of West Nile for the fact that we have seen this disease in our community and I want to learn more about it. West Nile is a virus that is spread through mosquitos. I will be discussing different topics in this case study including, the epidemiology, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, the prognosis, and some statistics of this disease. West Nile is something that we have all heard about. Each year when the summer months’ approach we start to think about protecting ourselves from mosquitos.

The Ebola Virus is an extremely deadly virus found in Africa. There have been multiple outbreaks across Africa and one in the United States. The Ebola virus basically causes uncontrollable bleeding externally and internally. Then your organs become liquefied. This usually results in death(www.encyclopedia.com). The following report contains info on the characteristics and history of the Ebola Virus.

The Ebola Haemorrahagic Fever, or Ebola for short, was first recognized as a virus in 1967. The first breakout that caused the Ebola virus to be recognized was in Zaire with 318 people infected and 280 killed. There are five subtypes of the Ebola virus, but only four of them affect humans. There are the Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and the Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth one, the Ebola-Reston, only affects nonhuman primates. The Ebola-Zaire was recognized on August 26, 1976 with a 44 year old schoolteacher as the first reported case. The Ebola-Sudan virus was also recognized in 1976 and was thought to be that same as Ebola-Zaire and it is thought to have broken out in a cotton factory in the Sudan. The Ebola-Ivory Coast was

Normally infecting fruit bats, the Ebola virus found a mutation allowing it to spread to humans. This virus is an acute and often fatal illness. This virus first erupted in two outbreaks in 1976 (one occurring in Nzara and Sudan, while the other occurred in a village near the Ebola river, where the virus takes its name.) The current outbreak, starting in West Africa with the potential to spread throughout the world,  is  larger and more complex than previous outbreaks. This virus has caused more deaths than all other past Ebola outbreaks combined. With approximately five people infected with the virus every hour in Sierra Leone alone, how far – and how fast – will the Ebola virus go?