West Nile Encephalitis (cont.)
Can one person contract the virus from another?
It is important to note that the West Nile virus is not contagious. It cannot be transmitted from person to person. A person cannot get the virus, for example, from touching or kissing a person who has the disease or from a health-care worker who has treated someone with the disease.
Humans are called a dead-end host for the virus, meaning one that can be infected but whose immune system usually prevents the virus from multiplying enough to be passed back to mosquitoes and then to other hosts.
There also is no evidence that a person can get the virus from handling live or dead infected birds. However, avoiding skin contact when handling dead animals, including dead birds, is recommended. Gloves or double plastic bags should be used to remove and dispose of carcasses.
Besides mosquitoes, can other insects transmit the West Nile virus?
Infected mosquitoes are the primary method of transmission of the
West Nile virus and were the source of the 1999 New York outbreak.
Ticks infected with the West Nile virus have been found in Asia
and Africa. Their role in the transmission and maintenance of the
virus is uncertain. However, ticks have not been associated in the
transmission of the West Nile virus in the New York outbreak.
Are there other viruses like the West Nile
virus?
The West Nile virus is closely related to the Japanese encephalitis virus and the St. Louis encephalitis virus, which are found in the southeastern and
midwestern United States. These viruses are also mosquito-borne and have a similar life cycle in birds and mosquitoes and occasionally strike people.
A major difference is that St. Louis encephalitis is "silent" in birds, generally not killing them, so there is usually no warning before a human case. With the West Nile virus (at least the American strain), birds, and particularly crows, become ill or die and therefore offer an early warning system.
Next: What are the symptoms of West Nile virus? »
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