Is a womans pregnancy at risk if she gets West Nile encephalitis?
There is no documented evidence that a pregnancy is at risk due to infection with West Nile virus. What percentage of people who contract West Nile virus become severely ill? How many die? Among those with severe illness due to West Nile virus, case-fatality rates range from 3% to 15% and are highest among the elderly. Less than 1% of persons infected with West Nile virus will develop severe illness. If a person contracts West Nile virus, does that person develop a natural immunity to future infection by the virus? It is assumed that immunity will be lifelong; however, it may wane in later years.
There is NO documented evidence that a pregnancy is at risk due to infection with West Nile virus. How do people get West Nile encephalitis? The bite of a mosquito that is infected with West Nile virus is all it takes to transmit the infection. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. After an incubation period of 1 to 2 weeks, infected female mosquitoes can then transmit West Nile virus to humans and animals while biting. The mosquitoes and the bites they cause do not differ from those bites of an uninfected mosquito. Can you get West Nile encephalitis from an infected person or an infected bird? YES AND NO. West Nile encephalitis is NOT transmitted from person-to-person. For example, you cannot get West Nile virus from touching or kissing a person who has the disease, or from a health care worker who has treated someone with the disease. It has been transferred through blood transfusions There is NO evidence that a person can get the virus from handling live or de
