Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Published : June 3, 2022 6:08 PM IST
A 47-year-old man died of West Nile Fever earlier this week in Kerala's Thrissur district, putting the state's health authorities on high alert. This is the state's second zoonotic illness-related mortality in the previous three years. Before this, the sickness claimed the life of a six-year-old kid in 2019.
While the cases have been reported in Kerala, biologists are of the opinion that the virus might be hiding in many other places in India, and it may strike again. While West Nile Virus is spread like any other mosquito-borne illness like Malaria, it is not the same. Here are the differences between malaria and the West Nile virus.
The West Mile Virus (WVN) is a vector-borne disease that spreads with a bite of mosquitoes. First detected in 1937 in Uganda, the first case of West Nile Virus was found in India in 2006. The symptoms of the disease show up within 3-14 days of being bitten. The virus causes flu-like symptoms like fever, headache, body ache, nausea, vomiting, etc. It can lead to severe problems in people over the age of 60 and those with weakened immune systems.
The virus primarily spreads through an infected mosquito from the Culex species. Reportedly, mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds. The virus stays in the mosquito's blood for a few days after it enters its body. The virus subsequently enters the salivary glands of the mosquito. Following that, if an infected mosquito bites a human or an animal, the virus is injected into their blood, and the virus spreads from one infected mosquito to a human. The virus replicates and causes sickness once it enters the human body.
Malaria is a parasite disease spread by mosquitos that cause high fever and chills. Plasmodium (P) vivax, Plasmodium (P) ovale, Plasmodium (P) malariae, and Plasmodium (P) falciparum are four parasites that can be transmitted through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Other forms of transmission, however, are possible. If you are exposed to infected blood after a transfusion or share needles used to inject medicines, you can contract malaria. It is also possible for a mother to pass it on to her child at delivery.
After entering your body, the malaria parasites attack your liver. After developing there, they enter the bloodstream and target your red blood cells after a few days. These parasites proliferate in 48 to 72 hours once within red blood cells and contaminate them.
Malaria and West Nile Virus are two mosquito-borne diseases that affect humans. Infectious agents enter the human body when a mosquito bites a person, causing sickness. While it can be easy to confuse, there are a few things that can help you differentiate between the two:
However, there are also similarities between the two and one should know that both infections are life-threatening as there are no vaccinations available for these vector-borne illnesses.
