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Essays on west nile virus
Essays on west nile virus
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Mosquitoes, fever and even death may be some of the things that come to mind when we're asked to think about West Nile Virus. Many of us would consider mosquitoes a small trade-off for what the summertime provides, but what if there were more at risk than a bump above your skin and an itch? In a not so distant past West Nile Virus ascended into news broadcasts all throughout the country and alarming it's residents. Today however, that all seems to be an afterthought. The intentions today are to cover the first found cases of West Nile Virus, the symptoms of West Nile Virus, and finally West Nile Virus' impact on the United States. Through the research here, the hope is that we can all have a better understanding of how West Nile Virus works. West Nile Virus gets its name from its birthplace in the West Nile District. According to (Gubler, Duane, Marfin, Anthony & Petersen, Lyle, 2003) it was in 1937 that Uganda had its first isolated case of West Nile Virus (para. 4). This first case was found in the blood of a woman determined to be febrile. According to (James Sejvar 2003): The patient presented in the setting of a large epidemiologic study of yellow fever virus; however, inoculations of mice with the patient's serum resulted in the isolation of a virus with physical and pathologic properties similar to those of two flaviviruses, St. Louis encephalitis virus and Japanese B encephalitis virus, and sharing immunological relationships with these viruses. (para. 3) West Nile Virus has been determined to be a flavivirus. Flavivirus has been defined as, "a type of arbovirus that causes a wide range of diseases in humans,including yellow fever, dengue, and West Nile fever. It is spread by ticks or mosquitoes". (flavi... ... middle of paper ... ...ounters with West Nile were accounted. Between the travels of Uganda where we were first introduced to West Nile, to the outbreaks in Israel, and eventually on our own shore in New York. We covered the symptoms of West Nile and explained how scary the thought that anywhere from 70%-80% of infected do not show any symptoms. Through that research we discussed how many different types of West Nile we could contract and how each played vastly different roles to the illness. Finally, we approached what the response and impact was for the United States. We covered the outbreaks of 2002 and 2012, we dealt with high concentrated areas(i.e. Texas, Louisiana, Illinois), along with preventive measures put in place for research and funding. Please remember that we still need increased funding and awareness to the public to help further the cause against West Nile Virus.
You woke up a week ago feeling odd. You were not sure what was wrong, but your body was full of aches, you felt hot to the touch, and you kept vomiting. Your mother told you to lay down and rest, hoping it was just a cold. After a few days, you began to feel better, well enough that you wanted to return to the river to watch the trade ships come in. Now, unfortunately, your symptoms have come back with a vengeance – your fever is back along with intense abdominal pain, your mouth is bleeding without being wounded, and every time you vomit, it appears black in color. Also, when you look in the mirror, your skin has changed from the sun-kissed color you have always been to a dull yellow hue. The doctor comes in to examine you; he makes many “tsk tsk” noises and hurries out of the room with a cloth over his face. The doctor mumbles to your mother that he believes you have Yellow Jack and there is nothing more he can do, you are going to die. Your mother weeps uncontrollably yet you cannot react because another horrendous pain in your head has doubled you over. Soon, as you stop shaking and begin to relax, the sounds of the doctor and your mother become white noise and your surroundings begin to dull until you prove the doctor right; another person fell victim to the infectious Yellow Fever virus.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a member of the family Togaviridae and genus Alphavirus that have been associated with large sporadic epidemics (Schwartz & Albert, 2010) (Suhrbier, Jaffar-Bandjee, & Gasque, 2012). CHIKV is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitos of the genus Aedes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopticus (Torres, et al., 2015). This virus was first identified in 1952 in East Africa and later caused large outbreaks in tropical Asia and Africa (Sissoko, et al., 2009). Chikungunya fever is a re-emerging disease; appearing again in an outbreak in India, 2005, after being silent approximately 32 years (Mohan, Kiran, Manohar, & Kumar, 2010). International travels helps in the introduction of CHIK to different areas. In late 2013, the
West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded flavivirus mostly present in the eastern hemisphere that can affect humans, birds, horses, mosquitoes, and other domestic and wild animals. It has plagued the world since it was first identified in West Nile province of Uganda in 1937 (Sally Murray). Since this time, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), the disease has been spotted in “Africa … Europe, the Middle East, West and Central Asia … the United States … Canada,” and now Central America. Despite its discovery in the 1930’s, the western hemisphere went without the disease until 1999; the first documented case of WNV in the United States was in New York (Watson). West Nile Virus presents a near never-ending problem for the United States because of its similarities to other arboviral disease and its ability to transmit quickly.
The West Nile Virus first came to the U.S. public's attention following an outbreak in New York in August 1999 where eight patients has contracted ecephalitis from the virus. In the following four years the virus spread to almost all 48 contiguous states. In the United States cases were initially infrequent until 2002, when a massive outbreak occurred in the Mississippi River basin during August and September. As it has spread through the country, nearly 8,500 people have been diagnosed with the virus, which has lead to 189 deaths. The emergence of the new disease has been followed closely by the media and the government. Many areas that have experienced significant outbreaks of the Virus have occured have implem...
It's very helpful when doctors, especially ones as well educated as Dr. Sergio Cortes, explain imminent health threats in plain, everyday language that everyone can easily understand. Getting information out to the public regarding the Zika virus is vital; the article Find Out More About Zika Virus With Sergio Cortes, from his personal blog, gives people the tools they need to lessen their chances of contracting the virus. Since Zika is now definitely linked to microcephaly, a birth defect affecting infant’s development, it is imperative that pregnant women avoid contracting the Zika virus. The virus is not contagious; people cannot catch it from another person who has the virus, however, when a mosquito that stings a person who has the Zika
After hearing my concerns she shared that the Baylor research team was aware of the problem and is trying to identify ways to better educate the physicians. We concluded that surveying the doctors would be the best way to identify the misunderstandings. The Baylor West Nile research team responded by passing out surveys at physician meetings, asking them questions about their knowledge of the disease. They invited me to be part of this process by attending meetings and evaluating the surveys, but my schedule did not allow for my participation. I am, however, confident that their efforts will help raise awareness and identify areas to further educate physicians so they can properly identify West Nile symptoms. However this training needs to be extended beyond the Houston Medical Center and needs to be done periodically to keep up with research
The Zika virus epidemic continues to endanger the lives of many, but the lives that are in danger may not be the ones you would expect.
West Nile or WNV is a virus that is most commonly spread to people by mosquito bites. The first cases were recognized in and the Middle East, India, Australia, Africa, some parts of Asia, and Europe. It was not known to be in North America till around 1999. People can get infected with West Nile virus by getting bit by an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. An infected mosquito can give the virus to humans and animals.
The first question: Does Zika virus have any detrimental effects on the nervous system of adults? The speaker answered that adults do not have neural progenitor cells except for in the hippocampus which is responsible for memory and emotion; there isn’t any research that shows Zika virus’s detrimental effects on memory and emotion. Another question: Can highly active anti-retroviral therapy(HARRT) used for HIV treatment be applied to Zika virus infection since they both are RNA virus? The speaker replied that previous research has shown that HAART cannot be used to combat Zika virus. The speaker received other questions on issues that require further investigation and methods of prophylaxis. The speaker cautioned against traveling to South America and Central America during seasons when Aedes Aegypti is very active. All in all, this seminar was very informative about the various unknown effects of Zika virus and revealed the need for further research into the detrimental effects of Zika virus on pregnant women and their
How many people in the world have had Zika Virus? Zika Virus was first found in Uganda, East Africa in 1947. It was first identified in monkeys, then in 1952 it was identified in humans. Zika is a mosquito-borne illness spread by the Aedes mosquito. Zika can last for about two-seven days. Zika is a mild virus and no one can die from it. In Brazil there was a major outbreak that lasted from 2015-2016. Zika has lasted for a very long time. There have been major outbreaks. When someone has the symptoms of Zika virus they are not very severe like any other disease.
West Nile Virus (WNV) is an enveloped RNA virus that is transmitted from mosquitoes. The first case in North America was discovered in 1999 and it has been discovered that both birds and mosquitoes are carriers of this neuropathogen. Upon biting an infected bird, the mosquito is then infected. When the infected mosquito bites the human, the virus is transferred. Since West Nile Virus’ method of pathogenicity is zoonotic, it is not known to be transferrable from person to person.2 This flavivirus has been known to differentiate into the less serious West Nile Fever and the more severe West Nile Meningitis and West Nile Encephalitis.1
The West Nile Virus is a disease which is transmitted to birds from infected mosquitos. The birds are used as reservoir hosts that can pass on the disease to other birds and to humans, as well as other mammals (Lim). It is a single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae, and the genus Flavivirus and it is responsible for the deaths of many birds and humans in both the United States and the Eastern Hemisphere (Peterson). The West Nile virus was originally found in the West Nile District of Uganda and only found in the Eastern Hemisphere, until the year 1999 when the disease appeared in New York (Peterson). Most of the West Nile epidemics
In 2002 the West Nile Virus was found in 38 states and killed 188 people before the year was over. The West Nile Virus has existed in Africa for thousands of years infecting wildlife and people, but it has been affecting people more than ever these past few decades. The West Nile virus is transmitted into humans and wildlife through mosquito bites. In the past vaccines and pesticides have been used to control these types of issues, but this virus isn’t as simple. In order to prevent people and animals from getting infected by the West Nile Virus it is necessary to control the population of mosquitoes, create a non-toxic pesticide spray, and make sure a West Nile Vaccine available to the victims of the virus.
Zika virus or ZIKV, which is an Arbovirus of the flavivirus genus belonging to the flaviviridae family, is a mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in 1947 by scientists who were conducting some research in the Zika Forest, located in Uganda. The Zika forest with its luscious foliage of around “135 species
Dengue is the most common arboviral (arthropod-transmitted) disease and it also position as the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. Approximately 2.5 billion people living in tropical and sub-tropical regions are at a great risk of dengue infection, which is almost equal to about two-fifths of the human population (Gubler & Clark, 1995; WHO, 2009). There is an estimated 50-100 million infections occurring globally in each year, with 500,000 cases requiring hospitalization and causing 24,000 deaths (Halstead, 1988; WHO, 1997). Furthermore, the increasing populations in tropical and sub-tropical regions, making dengue as a global threat to public health (UNEP 2009; Holden, 2009).