Mosquitoes Spread West Nile Virus (IMAGE)

WashU Medicine

Mosquitoes Spread West Nile Virus

Caption

Thousands of people are living with memory loss and other long-term neurological problems as a result of West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes such as the one shown here preparing to feed on a human host. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that these problems may be due to the patients' own immune systems destroying parts of their neurons, which suggests that intervening in the immune response may help prevent brain damage or help patients recover.

Credit

CDC/ James Gathany

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