CDC: 17 People Now Have West Nile Virus That Can Produce Coronavirus-Like Symptoms

Ethen Kim Lieser

Public Health, Americas

2020 just isn't giving humanity a break.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there is another disease that is shown to be accelerating here in the United States.

The West Nile virus has already infected seventeen individuals in counties in Texas, California and Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, 958 people were confirmed to be infected in the United States and 54 later died.

The West Nile virus is known to produce similar symptoms as the novel coronavirus, so health experts are warning to not overlook this particular disease when diagnosing.

“Mosquitoes do not carry COVID, but because the symptoms are so similar you’ll need to talk with your doctor to see about getting a COVID test,” Juanette Willis, of the DeKalb County Board of Health in Georgia, told Fox 5 Atlanta.

Dr. Paul Auwaerter, clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital, told Yahoo Life that because the two diseases do share similar symptoms, “people are just assuming they have COVID-19.”

He added: “Statistically, it’s probably true that it’s COVID in these cases, but it’s not always the case.”

Such assumptions are supported by the fact that there are now more than 18.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, including at least 710,000 deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has the most cases by far, with nearly 4.9 million confirmed infections and more than 159,000 deaths.

According to the CDC, West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat the virus, but most people who are infected do not feel sick.

About 20% of those who are infected showcase a fever and other symptoms like severe headache, neck stiffness, skin rash, muscle aches, diarrhea and swollen lymph glands.

However, one out of 150 can develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness that affects the central nervous system, such as encephalitis (brain inflammation) or meningitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord).

The health agency recommends using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to prevent mosquito bites.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters