While I was thumbing through the internet so to speak looking for an ideal for an article that is a must. I ran across something that stunned me it was talking about the West Nile virus. I hadn’t thought alot about it too much but had done an article on Keystone virus which was not heard of too much.
West Nile was a big thing one time and just faded away and was forgot about well so a thought. There is was an article about a man in Colorado that I came across he was a seargent in the police department healthy in his early 60’s active took care of his health.
Suddenly got sick and died they said the doctors were shocked because this happened. This was October of this year he was 63 the reason West Nile encephalitis. Wow a rare virus that attacks the brain and there is no cure.
Why am I saying this? This is bring up a point that The West Nile that we heard so much about years ago is still here. Almost 100 cases reported this year with two deaths last year 68 cases with four deaths you see West Nile virus is still here and taking its toll on humans.
Now this was in Colorado nationally they have been over 2,300 cases this year with 110 deaths reported by the CDC. Like the Keystone virus West Nile is spread also by mosquito bites the bad thing is that people don’t usually feel any symptoms.
Those that do have symptoms we will discuss more about later on in this article.
What is the West Nile virus?
What livegreaterhealth has learned about this virus is that it is very deadly. So here is what Wikipedia has to say and we quote…
“West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family Flaviviridae, specifically from the genus Flavivirus, which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. West Nile virus is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly species of the genus Culex, but ticks have also been found to carry the virus. The primary hosts of WNV are birds, so that the virus remains within a “bird-mosquito-bird” transmission cycle.”
West Nile originated in eastern Africa where it is spread by birds and mosquitoes mostly.
So we see that the mosquitoes get from the birds and then tranfers it to humans.
Symptoms
West Nile virus symptoms are very similar to flu symptoms here is a list of them…
- joint pain
- swollen glands
- muscle aches
- headaches
- fever
- fatigue
- rashes
- stiffness
Besides from symptoms West Nile can cause other conditons that are most severe.
Other Conditions caused by West Nile virus
Encephalitis – a condition caused by the West Nile virus an is the inflammation of the brain and is deadly.
Meningitis – a condition caused by West Nile virus an is the inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord.
Both these conditions can and are deadly.
Diagnosis
Doctors can do a couple of blood tests to determine whether you have West Nile virus or not.
1. If you are determined to have West Nile your antibodies will show high levels of it because the immune system is at work.
2. Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap) is to check for meningitis. The fluid is extracted and analyzed surrounding the spinal cord and brain.
3. Brain Test (EEG)electrencephalography this test is done to detect inflammation on the brain.
Treatments
As of right now there is no cure for West Nile they also do not have treatment methods other than the regular ones. Pain medicine most over the counter for minor cases and stronger pain medicine and fluids for more severe cases. Researchers are working daily to come up with treatments or a cure.
Preventions
The best prevention is to avoid mosquito bites all together but that is something that is almost impossible to do. The next best thing we can do is to minimize the amount of bites that we get.
How do we do that?
When we are outside wear long pants and shirts is one thing we can do.
Another thing is when we are outside use some type of repellent.
Using spray or rub on repellent with Deet which is good to use.
Best case senario would be to use homemade repellents with but use something that is safe to use on children.
Article Reason
There is a reason for everything just as this website livegreaterhealth.com reason for producing these articles is a good one. I never hear of these health conditions unless I specifically look for them and that is a shame. How can people protect themselves from them unless they know about them?
That’s our reason to serve and protect as far as we can go. Searching and writing articles that go unnoticed or untalked about that are major health problems for our whole world.
Let’s all get together and spread the word to help protect our loved ones.
Conclusion
This is the end our topic. Our hope is for us to tell every one how important it is for people to know this. Livegreaterhealth is in the business of giving information to help keep and make us healthy. This website was developed in 2017 to help all readers improve their health and stay fit.
As we conclude this article let us know if you like the information and if it is of some benefit to you. Leave us a comment to and tell us how you feel about it and what you would like to know more about. We will get back to you as soon as possible and give you a reply. Thanks for reading our article.
Colorado is indeed a place that has problems with the West Nile Virus almost every year, as well as with Lyme Disease and the bubonic plague, believe it or not. Part of the reason is because Coloradans are very “outdoorsy” people hiking around the mountains, and we don’t always dress for the occasion. I remember the death of this police sergeant. This is good information you have here. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment, Kelli, so you’ve heard about the Colorado dilemma they are having you know this can happen anywhere. We have to watch where we are at and be careful with our clothing. In colder climates it’s not that bad but its usually warm somewhere and a problem.
While talking about how serious West Nile is Lyme disease can be just as disastrous if not caught soon enough. Read this post to find out.