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West Nile Virus in the USA (New York)

04 Jul 2018

According to media  New York City has reported its first case of West Nile virus (WNV) this year. The patient is a Manhattan resident, aged over 50years. He was hospitalized in June and has with encephalitis and has since been discharged from hospital. This is the earliest case of WNV in New York City since surveillance began in 1999.

Advice for Travellers

There is no vaccine against WNV.

Travellers should practice Mosquito Bite Avoidance when visiting areas experiencing an outbreak of WNV.  These outbreaks will be listed on the destination pages of fitfortravel. Medical advice can be sought if symptoms develop following travel to a risk area.
Note for blood donors: If you have travelled to an area with WNV in the past 4 months you may need to be tested for WNV before donating blood. All travel must be mentioned to the Blood Transfusion Service so that they can determine whether you need to be tested. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service have produced a leaflet which details information about blood donation after travel:

For further information see West Nile Fever.