West Nile Virus

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 (WNV) can cause neurological disease and death in people. WNV is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.

Spread of the disease:

West Nile virus is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly species of the genus Culex. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood. The virus eventually gets into the mosquito’s salivary glands. During later blood meals (when mosquitoes bite), the virus may be injected into humans and animals, where it can multiply and possibly cause illness.
The primary hosts of WNV are birds, so that the virus remains within a “bird–mosquito–bird” transmission cycle.
Horses, just like humans, are “dead-end” hosts, meaning that while they become infected, they do not spread the infection. Symptomatic infections in horses are also rare and generally mild, but can cause neurologic disease, including fatal encephalomyelitis.

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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