Dr. Anthony Fauci was briefly hospitalized after contracting West Nile virus, a spokesperson said.
Fauci, 83, who was chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, became a household name during the Covid pandemic. Fauci left as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2022.
“Tony Fauci has been hospitalized with a case of West Nile virus. He is now home and is recovering,” a spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
West Nile virus is commonly spread through infected mosquitos, and there is no vaccine or treatment. As of Aug. 24, there were 216 human West Nile cases reported in 33 states. Of those cases, 142 were neuroinvasive, meaning people developed a severe form of the disease such as inflammation of the brain or the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. These cases typically require hospitalization.
Several hundred to several thousand cases are reported in the United States each year. Most cases are reported in August and September.
Disease experts said that more West Nile virus had been circulating this summer than was expected, with at least seven states having confirmed human cases by June 25. A record-breaking number of mosquitoes in and around Las Vegas were found to have been carrying the virus earlier this year.
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