Dr. Anthony Fauci, the previous top U.S. infectious disease expert, frolicked within the hospital after being infected with the West Nile virus and is now recovering at home, a spokesman confirmed Saturday.
Fauci is anticipated to make a full recovery, said the spokesman, who wished to stay anonymous for security reasons.
West Nile virus is usually transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. While most individuals experience no symptoms, about 1 in 5 people may develop fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash, in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 150 infected people develops severe, sometimes fatal illness.
CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook wrote in a social media post that he spoke with Fauci on Saturday, who said he likely contracted the infection from a mosquito bite in his yard.
“Dr. Fauci was hospitalized approximately 10 days ago after developing fever, chills, and severe fatigue,” the post on X said, adding that Fauci spent per week within the hospital.
As the White House’s chief medical adviser, Fauci was the general public face of the U.S. government in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a job that made him each a trusted voice for thousands and thousands and the goal of partisan anger. He left the federal government in 2022, but was again before the congress in June to testify as a part of Republicans’ years-long investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and the U.S. response to the disease.
Fauci joined the college of Georgetown University last summer as a distinguished university professor.
There are not any vaccines to forestall West Nile, and no medications to treat it. As of August 20, the CDC had recorded 216 cases in 33 states this yr. The best prevention is to avoid mosquito bites.
