CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF WEST NILE FEVER IN UKRAINE AT THE MODERN STAGE

Abstract

West Nile Fever (WNF) is an actual zooanthroponotic natural focal transmissible extremely dangerous disease with a planetary distribution. It belongs to priority of medical and social problems. Natural and anthropurgical foci of WNF are stable over the time, their structure and boundaries are modified under influence of many natural and social factors. Clinical manifestation of WNF is diverse with significant proportion of neuroinvasive forms.

Ukraine is an endemic area of WNF since 2006, but epidemiological surveillance hasn’t been carried out to appropriate standards in last twenty years.

In order to assess the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of WNF in western Ukrainian region, we serologically examined 816 hospitalized infectious patients with seasonal febrile diseases of unknown etiology. WNF was verified in (12.6±1.2) % examined patients. All age groups were infected: from 2 to 72 years (average age 38.6), the largest proportions were in age groups of 41–60 and 26–40 years. Residents of cities and females predominated among patients with WNF, and pensioners, schoolchildren, handymen predominated among population groups. The risk season fell in May-July, although sporadic cases registered in other months of the year.

The clinical manifestation of WNF was diverse, with defeat of one or more systems together with hyperthermic syndrome. In general, patients with flu-like syndrome – (28.2±4.4) %, symptoms of respiratory system affection – (26.2±4.3) %, and of hepatobiliary system and digestive tract – (25.3±4.3) %. Children were prevailed in group of patients with central nervous system lesions. In general morbidity rate was 22.0 per 100 thousand population.

The region we surveyed belongs to hyperendemic area according to results of WNF incidence.