Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is said to be recovering at home after spending just under a week in the hospital due to a West Nile virus infection.
No information has been given as to exactly how Fauci became infected with the virus, but it’s assumed that it was caused by a mosquito bite. He is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesperson told CNN.
As the outlet points out in their coverage of Fauci’s recovery, “About 1,000 Americans are hospitalized each year with the most severe form of West Nile virus, which is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Another 1,500, on average, are diagnosed after developing symptoms, although experts estimate that as many of 80% of infections in the US are never identified.” While there is no vaccine for West Nile, symptoms are usually mild — often compared to those experienced by someone going through the flu — but can sometimes come with a rash. Fauci, 83, seems to have been hit with the worst-case scenario here, judging by the length of his hospital stay.
In 2004, while still the NIAID director, Fauci responded to a question from the Ask the White House forum regarding the best way to prevent the virus with a simple answer: “Mosquito control.” He furthered in his response at the time that there were “a number of promising candidates” for a vaccine but, more than twenty years later, we still don’t have one.