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A mosquito transmitted infection that is endemic only in the Americas and primarily in the southern states of the US.
Has an incubation period of about seven days.
Saint Louis encephalitis
A disease caused by the mosquito borne Saint Louis encephalitis virus.
Saint Louis encephalitis virus is related to Japanese encephalitis virus and is a member of the Flaviviridae subgroup.
Mainly affects the United States.
Occasional cases have been reported from Canada and Mexico.
Flavivirus.
Majority of infections result in mild illness, including fever and headache.
When infection is severe patients 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.
Mosquitoes, primarily from the genus Culex, become infected by feeding on birds infected with the St. Louis encephalitis virus..
Infected mosquitoes 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.
The virus it is not transmissible from that individual to other humans.
No vaccines or any other treatments specifically for Saint Louis encephalitis virus exist.
An average of 128 cases of Saint Louis encephalitis are recorded annually.
In temperate areas of the United States,
Saint Louis encephalitis cases occur primarily in the late summer or early fall temperate areas of the United States, and in the southern United States where the climate is milder, it can occur year-round.