West Nile fever studied in Armenia 40 years ago - Armen  Muradyan 

ArmInfo. The problem of West Nile fever was studied in Armenia 40 years ago. This was written on  his Facebook page by the rector of Yerevan State Medical University Armen Muradyan.

He noted that the university studied the problem in 1985-1999. West  Nile fever is classified as an arbovirus, which is transmitted by  live carriers, mainly ticks and mosquitoes. There are more than 500  types of arboviruses, of which more than 100 are pathogenic for  humans.

The Department of Epidemiology of the University conducted scientific  research in Armenia, which included epidemiological, entomological,  virological and serological studies. "Every year in the fall and  spring (at the peak of the disease), we visited 10 regions of Armenia  with our entomologists, where data was collected on 118 settlements.  The results of these studies were saved. In particular, a virological  study was conducted on newborn mice aged 1-2 days, these mice are  very sensitive to arboviruses," says Professor of the Department of  Epidemiology Hasmik Oganesyan.

In the world, arboviruses are transmitted mainly through birds and  rodents. Migratory birds become infected with the virus from tick or  mosquito bites, after which they can be transmitted to humans.

Arboviruses have a pronounced seasonality. There are pathogens that  can occur in a very mild form with flu-like symptoms, but severe  forms are also possible.

"Various pathogens of arboviruses have been isolated in 8 out of 10  regions of Armenia. The greatest prevalence is observed in  Aragatsotn, Armavir, Ararat regions, where mosquitoes were carriers,  and in Kotayk region - ticks. We did not find pathogens in Lori and  Shirak regions. For the first time in Armenia, we isolated 22 strains  of West Nile fever from mosquitoes and only 4 strains from ticks.   Therefore, we focus mainly on mosquitoes," emphasizes Hasmik  Oganesyan.

According to her, natural foci of transmission of the virus can  persist for a long time and not cause concern, but recently the  situation has changed due to climate change, rising temperatures and  a large flow of migratory birds.

According to the WHO, this disease is asymptomatic in most cases, but  can cause severe complications, including death. The infection is  transmitted to humans from live carriers - ticks, mosquitoes, and is  not transmitted from person to person. There is currently no special  treatment or vaccine.

Note that according to the RA Ministry of Health, as of August 24, 75  cases of West Nile fever have been recorded in the country. 8 people  are undergoing treatment at the Center for Infectious Diseases,  another 9 people are under observation with suspected of having this  acute viral disease. At the moment, only one fatal case has been  confirmed: a patient with multiple concomitant diseases has died.