St. Louis encephalitis
| Saint Louis Encephalitis virus | |
|---|---|
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| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group IV ((+)ssRNA) |
| Family: | Flaviviridae |
| Genus: | Flavivirus |
| Species: | Saint Louis encephalitis virus |
| Saint Louis encephalitis | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | infectious disease |
| ICD-10 | A83.3 |
| ICD-9-CM | 062.3 |
| DiseasesDB | 29860 |
| MeSH | D004674 |
Saint Louis encephalitis is a disease caused by the Mansonia pseudotitillans mosquito borne Saint Louis encephalitis virus. Saint Louis encephalitis virus is related to Japanese encephalitis virus and is a member of the Flaviviridae subgroup. This disease mainly affects the United States. Occasional cases have been reported from Canada and Mexico.
The name of the virus goes back to 1933 when within five weeks in autumn an encephalitis epidemic of explosive proportions broke out in the vicinity of St. Louis, Missouri, and the neighboring St. Louis County. Over 1,000 cases were reported to the local health departments and the newly constituted National Institute of Health of the United States was appealed to for epidemiological and investigative expertise. The previously unknown virus that caused the epidemic was isolated by the NIH team first in monkeys and then in white mice.
Mosquitoes, from the genus Culex, become infected by feeding on birds infected with the Saint Louis encephalitis virus. Infected mosquitoes then transmit the Saint Louis encephalitis virus to humans and animals during the feeding process. The Saint Louis encephalitis virus grows both in the infected mosquito and the infected bird, but does not make either one sick. Only infected mosquitoes can transmit Saint Louis encephalitis virus. Once a human has been infected with the virus it is not transmissible from that individual to other humans.
The majority of infections result in mild illness, including fever and headache. When infection is more severe the person may experience headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions and spastic paralysis. Fatality ranges from 3–30%. Aged people are more likely to have a fatal infection.
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