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It's
important to remember that the risk of
becoming seriously ill from the West
Nile virus is very low. Most people
bitten by an infected mosquito will show
no symptoms or a very mild illness. But
in a very few cases the illness may
become serious.
Mosquitoes
transmit the virus to humans after
becoming infected while feeding on the
blood of birds that carry the virus. The
virus then lives in the mosquito's
salivary glands. When the mosquito feeds
on humans, it can pass the virus on.
West
Nile can't be spread from human to human
or from birds to humans - only through
infected mosquitoes.In
most people, the virus produces mild
symptoms similar to the flu, with fever,
headache, and body aches, and swollen
lymph glands most common. But in the
elderly, the very young or people with
weakened immune systems, the virus can
cause encephalitis (inflammation of the
brain) or meningitis (inflammation of
the lining of the brain and spinal
cord), which could result in death or
brain damage.
Ottawa
associate medical officer, Geoff Dunkley
says most people who become infected
following a mosquito bite experience no
symptoms at all. "It's only about
one in 150 and 200 people, who in fact,
are bitten by an infected mosquito who
have the severe disease," he told
CTV Newsnet.
There
is no vaccine, though many of the
symptoms and complications of the
disease can be treated.
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