The Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that 153 people have so far been diagnosed with West Nile fever , and 11 have died as a result of the disease . This marks a sharp 75% increase from 87 cases within two days. The number of deaths among West Nile fever patients has risen fourfold within two days with all of them being elderly.
2 View gallery ( Photo: Shutterstock ) Approximately 80% of the infected don't develop West Nile fever symptoms. About 20% of those infected will experience symptoms of varying severity, including fever, headaches, or widespread body pain, with neurological complications appearing in less than 1% of the infected. The virus isn't transmitted from person to person, and the disease doesn't pass back from humans to mosquitoes.
The risk of significant illness is seen mainly among the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Oren Shetach Katvi, head of the Health Ministry's Zoonotic Diseases Department, explained West Nile fever is a disease that originates in animals and is transmitted to humans via a virus primarily found in birds and is delivered to humans through mosquitoes that feed on infected avians. In most cases, the virus causes a mild, flu-like illness that resolves on its own.
The disease is usually characterized by fever, headaches, weakness, joint and muscle pain, conjunctivitis, rash, and sometimes nausea and diarrhea. Rare complications can include acute encephalitis or meningitis, and be fatal in extreme cases. 2 View gallery ( Photo.
