Dr. Anthony Fauci diagnosed with West Nile virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a government official who became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been sickened by the West Nile virus but is expected to make a full recovery.

A spokeswoman for Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he had been hospitalized but didn’t say where or for how long. She said he is now recovering at home.

Fauci had told Dr. Jonathan LaPook, the chief medical correspondent for CBS News, that he had fever, chills and severe fatigue adding he was admitted to a hospital earlier this month. Fauci said he believed the West Nile came from a mosquito bite he had gotten in his backyard.

“I really felt like I’d been hit by a truck,” Fauci told Stat. “I have to tell you, I’ve never been as sick in my life. Ever. By far, this is the worst I’ve ever been with an illness.”

Most cases of West Nile are transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito and the symptoms can also include headache, body ache, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash, according to The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Most people don’t feel six with about one in five people developing some of the symptoms. One in about 150 people with the virus will have a serious illness that can turn fatal.

The CDC said there have been 216 cases of West Nile in 31 states in 2024.

There are no vaccines or preventative medication that can be given for West Nile itself but you can rest, drink fluids and take over-the counter pain medication to ease the symptoms, the CDC said.

The best way to combat a West Nile infection is prevention including using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, treating your clothing and gear with repellant and controlling mosquitos inside and outside, the CDC said.

Fauci was the chief White House medical adviser and the public face of the COVID-19 pandemic. He frequently was targeted by partisan politics, The Associated Press reported. He retired in 2022 but testified in June as part of the Republican investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and how the government responded to the pandemic.

He is currently on the faculty of Georgetown University, named a distinguished university professor.

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