Did you know that 80-percent of people bitten by a West Nile-carrying mosquito show no symptoms of the disease? The remaining 20-percent usually only experience mild, flu-like symptoms—such as chills, fever, headache, muscle weakness, nausea, and vomiting—which disappear within a few days time.
It’s the less than one percent of those bitten by a mosquito with West Nile that develop West Nile Encephalitis, a serious inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues, which can last several weeks and cause paralyzing neurological affects, such as the following…
1. Swollen Glands
Swollen lymph glands, the pea-sized oval glands in the neck, often result as a normal immune system response with an infection like West Nile. The glands will swell in response to the body attempting to ward off the infection. If you have West Nile fever from the virus, your glands may swell but this symptom does not occur for everyone who has the fever. Depending on the severity of the virus and accompanying fever, you may be able to see the swelling in your neck from your swollen lymph glands.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 20% of people infected with the West Nile Virus will develop West Nile fever, so your chances of swollen glands are relatively low – since not all cases result in swollen glands. There are many other viruses and infections that can cause swollen glands because of your body’s natural response to fight against infections.
