West Nile fever

• The Kerala government issued an alert in the State against West Nile fever.
• The infection was confirmed after samples of blood and cerebrospinal fluid of suspected patients.
• The West Nile Virus(WNV) is a single-strained RNA virus that originates in birds and is propagated via the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes among humans and animals.
• Those infected often experience dengue-like symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, body aches etc.
• The disease is spread by the Culex species of mosquitoes.
• There has been low human-to-human transmission.

WHAT IS WEST NILE FEVER?

• It is a mosquito-borne viral infection.
• The West Nile Virus (WNV) was detected for the first time in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937.
• The fever is spread by the Culex species of mosquitoes.
• In India, the fever was first detected in 2011.