Neurological Symptoms of West Nile Virus May Persist Years Later Abnormal neurological findings common in the long run

Patients diagnosed with West Nile virus infection continued to experience neurological symptoms as many as 8 years post-infection, researchers here found. At that time, almost half of patients had some abnormal neurological finding, including decreased strength, abnormal reflexes, and tremors following infection, reported Shannon E. Ronca, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues. Lingering comorbidity was as high as 70% for those patients who initially presented with encephalitis, Ronca reported during a presentation at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene annual meeting here. She noted that while 80% of West Nile patients are asymptomatic, 20% present with flu-like symptoms, and less than 1% present with severe neurologic disease, such as encephalitis, meningitis, or acute flaccid paralysis. For those more severe cases, there is a 10% case fatality ratio. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/astmh/69133?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-11-09&eun=g721819d0r&pos=0&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202017-11-09&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days