NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Dallas County health officials reported the eleventh human West Nile virus (WNV) case of 2021 in a Dallas resident. The patient was diagnosed with West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease (WNND).

So far this year, Dallas officials have reported one fatality due to WNV.

WNV is a mosquito-borne illness that can cause serious health problems. WNV is transmitted by mosquitoes, generally in summer and fall. Nearly 80 percent of people infected with WNV will not become ill. While only a little less than 20 percent of those infected with the virus will develop West Nile fever with mild symptoms (fever, headache, body aches, a skin rash on the chest or back and swollen lymph glands), one in 150 people infected will develop severe infection (West Nile encephalitis or meningitis).

Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube

Symptoms of severe WNV infection include headache, high fever, stiff neck, and/or tremors and muscle weakness. The elderly and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Anyone who experiences any of these severe symptoms should seek medical help immediately. Symptoms may progress to stupor, disorientation, coma, convulsions, paralysis and possibly death.