Is there west nile virus in alberta

West Nile Virus fact sheet. You will not receive a reply. Do not enter any personal information such as telephone numbers, addresses, or emails. Your submissions are monitored by our web team and are used to help improve the experience on Alberta. If you require a response, please go to our Contact page. West Nile Virus is a provincially notifiable disease for horses, donkeys and mules. Mosquitoes can also spread the virus to other animals, such as horses.

But you can't get West Nile from these animals or from touching or kissing an infected person. West Nile can spread through an organ transplant or a blood transfusion. That rarely happens in Canada and the United States, though, because all donated blood and organs for transplant are screened to see if the virus is present. Most people who have West Nile have no symptoms.

When symptoms do appear, they start 2 to 14 days after the mosquito bite. Mild symptoms may include:. Most people who have the mild form of West Nile have a fever for 5 days, have a headache for 10 days, and feel tired for more than a month. West Nile causes serious illness in some people who get infected. It can lead to swelling of the brain encephalitis , the spinal cord myelitis , or the tissues around the brain and spinal cord meningitis.

Symptoms of these diseases may include:. Call your doctor right away if you or someone you know has symptoms like these. If you have a severe case of West Nile, symptoms can last for weeks or months, especially if the infection has spread to your brain.

If your doctor thinks that you may have West Nile, he or she will ask questions to find out when you were bitten by a mosquito and what symptoms you have. The doctor may also test your blood for antibodies to the virus. The antibodies can show if you have had a recent West Nile infection.

The antibodies don't always appear right away, so your doctor may test your blood again in a couple of weeks. You may also have other tests, such as:. There is no treatment for West Nile.

Your body just has to fight the infection on its own. If you have a mild case, you can recover at home. Be sure to drink enough fluids and get lots of rest. You may also want to take medicine to reduce pain or fever. You may feel well enough to keep doing your normal activities. Ask your doctor if you need to stay home.

If you have severe West Nile, you may need to stay in a hospital so you can get treatment to help your body fight the illness. You may get fluids given through a vein intravenous, or IV and get help preventing other illnesses such as pneumonia. West Nile fever--Alberta--Epidemiology--Statistics. Health surveys--Alberta. Open Government Licence - Alberta. Publications Estimating the infection rate of West Nile virus in Alberta. Title and publication information Type Report. Extent 62 pages. Frequency Once.

Publisher Health and Wellness Contributor Ivan, Michaela. Contributor Schopflocher, Donald P. Contributor Tilley, Peter. Contributor Keays, Gloria.