A tourist returned from Egypt with a dangerous virus. He was taken to hospital

The holiday in Egypt ended for a tourist from Poland when he was admitted to the ward of a specialist hospital in Krakow. A few weeks ago, the teenager found himself in a hospital room in Lesser Poland with symptoms of a tropical disease. The results that have just arrived at the doctors confirmed their suspicions – the patient was diagnosed with West Nile fever virus. This is the second case of this disease being detected in our country, but the first one involving a human.

A teenager with West Nile fever

Two weeks ago to the ward of the Specialist Hospital. A boy with encephalitis was admitted to the Stefan Żeromski SP ZOZ in Krakow. The first suspicions were placed on a tropical disease because the teenager admitted that he had recently returned from a vacation in Egypt. “After imaging tests and examination of the cerebrospinal fluid, we ruled out all the causes that are considered in Poland,” said Lidia Stopyra, MD, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pediatrics, in an interview with tvn24.pl. Ultimately, the test for West Nile Fever came back positive.

There is no vaccine for this virus

Although this tropical virus can be dangerous if it encounters an elderly person or person with a weakened immune system, in a healthy teenager it is mild. Moreover, up to 80 percent of infected people are completely asymptomatic. To protect yourself from getting sick, be careful when coming into contact with mosquitoes. There is no vaccine for West Nile Fever – only repellents, wearing clothes with long sleeves and pants, or sleeping under a mosquito net can protect us against it. 10 percent of cases of infections in symptomatic people (i.e. people complaining of disorders such as fever, headaches, muscle weakness) may end in death. West Nile fever does not spread between people, so there is no risk of an epidemic of this virus in our country.