West Nile fever in Kerala: State on alert after cases reported in 3 districts - Check symptoms and other details

West Nile Fever in Kerala, West Nile Fever Symptoms, West Nile Fever Caused By Which Mosquito? Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday said the government has issued an alert after West Nile fever cases were reported from Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts of the state. The health minister asked all the districts to be vigilant and said that authorities have been directed to ensure the eradication of mosquito breeding spots.

While the minister assured netizens that there was no need to be concerned, she emphasized that anyone showing signs of fever or other symptoms of the West Nile infection must seek treatment immediately.

West Nile Fever Symptoms

The main symptoms of West Nile infection are headache, fever, muscle aches, dizziness and loss of memory. However, there are several patients who do not experience these symptoms.

Some people experience symptoms like fever, headache, vomiting and itching and in one per cent of the cases, it can lead to brain damage resulting in unconsciousness and sometimes death, the minister's statement said.

The symptoms of severe disease (also called neuroinvasive disease, such as West Nile encephalitis or meningitis or West Nile poliomyelitis) include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis, as per World Health Organisation. 

West Nile Fever Caused By Which Mosquito? 

The West Nile fever is spread by the Culex species of mosquitoes. According to reports, the first case of West Nile fever was detected in 1937 in Uganda.

West Nile Fever in Kerala: First Death

The fever was first detected in Kerala in 2011 and a six-year-old boy from Malappuram died due to the fever in 2019. Thereafter, in May 2022, a 47-year-old man died of the fever in Thrissur district.

West Nile Fever: What WHO has to say?

According to the World Health Organisation, about 20 per cent of people who get infected with West Nile Vector will develop West Nile fever. Not just humans but it has been identified in birds too. It was identified in birds (crows and Columbiformes) in the Nile Delta region in 1953.

Earlier, Kozhikode district health officials confirmed reports of five cases of West Nile fever there. The infected persons, which included children, are all fine now and back at their homes with no new cases reported from the areas they live in, an official of the Kozhikode district surveillance team said.