West Nile virus (WNV) is the most common arbovirus infection in the United States. The diagnosis requires consideration of not only a broad spectrum of presenting symptoms, ranging from a mild febrile illness to severe encephalitis and acute flaccid paralysis, but also public health risk factors and seasonality. There is no approved targeted therapy for WNV, so treatment relies on supportive care, management of neurologic sequelae and airway, treatment of other systems including the eye, and aggressive rehabilitation. Here, we describe a series of 3 cases of WNV encountered in September 2018 at one institution. First, we describe a case of WNV encephalitis with worsened dyskinesias and a relatively good recovery. Second, we describe a severe WNV encephalitis with overlying motor neuron involvement with a poor outcome. Finally, we describe a case of a WNV meningitis with significant bilateral chorioretinitis, an underappreciated complication of WNV infections. Through these cases, we review the epidemiology of WNV, risk factors for infection, the neurologic sequalae and long-term outcomes, and the importance of recognizing ocular involvement to prevent ophthalmologic complications.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Risk factors for West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease, California, 2005.
