A woman in Georgia has been ‘practically paralyzed’ from the waist down after falling sick with mosquito-borne infection as Anthony Fauci.
Anne Dillard, from Atlanta, was rushed to the ER after she collapsed at home this month and found herself unable to stand up.
She was diagnosed with West Nile Virus — which hospitalized Dr Fauci earlier this month— said she also suffered from a rash that spread from her stomach to the rest of her body.
It comes amid a spate of concerns over mosquito-carried illnesses in the US, with cities across several states now spraying streets to kill off the blood suckers.
Anne Dillard, from Atlanta, Georgia, revealed that she had been ‘practically paralyzed’ by her West Nile Virus infection
She spoke to local news outlets from her hospital bed in Emory University Hospital, Georgia
Among those to have died from infections was a healthy 41-year-old man from New Hampshire who was diagnosed with the mosquito-carried Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
Her diagnosis came shortly after that of Dr Anthony Fauci (pictured)
Ms Dillard revealed her case to local station 11Alive after being inspired by Dr Fauci, telling her story over Zoom from her hospital bed.
Revealing her reaction to the diagnosis, she said: ‘The whole thing is just completely crazy.
‘I get bit by mosquitoes constantly over the summer, my whole life, but I never thought a thing about it.’
She added: ‘From my mid-core down, I’m practically paralyzed. I can feel it, but the muscle strength is gone. I can’t sit up, stand or walk.’
Ms Dillard believes she got infected after suffering from a mosquito bite near her home in the metro Atlanta area.
The above graph shows West Nile Virus ases by year from 1999, when it first appeared in the US
Shown above are all the counties where West Nile Virus has been detected so far this year
Her symptoms also included lethargy and not wanting to eat much in the days before she collapsed.
Ms Dillard added that she found out she had West Nile Virus just 10 minutes after Dr Fauci announced his own diagnosis.
West Nile Virus arrived in the US in 1999 in New York City, and has since become the nation’s most common mosquito-borne disease and spread to every state of the US.
About 2,200 people are seriously sickened by the disease every year, estimates suggest, while 180 people die annually from the infection.
Approximately 80 percent of people who are infected suffer no symptoms, and about one in five suffer from a fever, headache or body ache before it subsides.
Fewer than one in 150 patients suffer from a serious illness which is caused by the disease affecting the central nervous system.
Warning signs include muscle weakness, numbness, paralysis and, in more serious cases, convulsions.
Those over 60 years old or with underlying conditions are more at risk from the disaese.
There are no specific medications for West Nile Virus, with patients instead treated via rest, fluids and over-the-counter pain medications.
Doctors say fatigue or weakness caused by the disease can last for weeks or months before someone recovers, and that most patients do not fully recover from paralysis.
