Israel’s Ministry of Health confirmed the fourth death due to West Nile fever. The ministry said on Wednesday that it is currently investigating a suspected case where the virus may have caused another patient’s death, Xinhua news agency reported.
The ministry also reported six new cases of infection with the virus, bringing the total number to 48 since the beginning of May. Among them, 36 were hospitalised, with five patients under ventilation.
On Tuesday, Israel’s environmental protection and health ministries reported that mosquitoes infected with the virus were detected at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv. Following the detection, the Israel Airports Authority conducted extensive pest control in the airport area.
West Nile virus usually doesn’t cause any symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. However, in certain cases, when the condition becomes severe, it can cause inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) and inflammation of the brain and its surrounding membrane (meningoencephalitis); all of which might turn out to be fatal.
Here, take a look at some of the more serious symptoms of West Nile Infection caused due to encephalitis and meningitis.
“West Nile virus isn’t spread between humans. But there have been a few cases where it has spread through organ transplants. The risk of getting the virus from an organ is unknown. Not all organ donors are tested for West Nile virus. All blood is screened for the virus. The risk for getting West Nile virus from blood is much lower than the risk of not having any procedure that would call for a blood transfusion.”
(With inputs from IANS)
2024-06-27T04:36:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd