Tanner Sands

General Information It is part of the Flaviviridae family which is a family of viruses generally spread through arthropod vectors It is from the genus Flavivirus It is generally transmitted from mosquito bites, or dead birds It contains RNA

History Believed to have emerged 1000 years ago One of the causes of Alexander the Great’s death First discovered in 1937 in the West Nile district of Uganda during a study on Yellow Fever West Nile Virus first came to the Western Hemisphere around 1999 with encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) found in humans, dogs, horses, and other animals It first hit America in the New York area, it initially came by mosquito

Replication It generally replicates in the Cytoplasm or Vacuole of host cells Once inside the Cytoplasm it translates its RNA into the host cell’s ribosomes by mimicking the mRNA of the host cell, this results in synthesis of a single polyprotien This polyprotien is then cleaved into mature protiens and RNA is synthesized Release occurs in cell lysis Translation takes hours It uses the lytic cycle

Effects There are three different effects West Nile Virus has on humans Asymptomatic Enfection Mild Febrile syndrome (or West Nile Fever) West Nile Meningitis or Encephalitis

Symptoms About 80 percent of people infected with West Nile Virus will show no symptoms For the other 20 percent symptoms include: fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands and skin rash on the chest, stomach or back Symptoms can last between a few days and a few weeks In severe cases symptoms can include: high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms can last several weeks and neurological effects can be permanent Most people infected with West Nile Virus will experience their symptoms within the first 14 days of being infected

Treatment There is no specific treatment for West Nile Virus Most symptoms pass on their own AMD 3100 has helped with Encephalitis in some patients There are several treatments that have been tested in labs such as alpha interferon, ribavirin, intravenous immunoglobulin

Sources