Manisha Bhogal Period 7
Case Study

Background:
Mila Kunis, a 29-year-old Caucasian female, came early Friday morning on August 5, 2012 complaining about a number of symptoms she’s been experiencing for a week or so. She claimed she’s been having reoccurring episodes of back pain, eye pain, and a skin rash and to top it all off, a fever and a headache. She is a well-known Hollywood actress worth millions, but during a much needed vacation from filming endless blockbusters, she traveled to the Amazon rainforest to seek a bit of an adventure. The Amazon rainforest, which is mostly located in Brazil, is crawling with various types’ insects that may carry harmful diseases. Mila did not know much about protection from these harmful insects that may bite into her skin a transfer all sorts of diseases. Her tour guide, Robert Sky, was considered to a professional but even he did not use his common knowledge when exploring the jungle with Mila. He told Mila to lather herself in mosquito repellant but she did not take must precaution and did not applying it at all, as she thought she would be safe just by staying side by side with her amazing tour guide. Robert also did not seem to pay enough attention to notice that Mila did not apply any kind of protection. Later on in the day, as they were making their way through the jungle, Mila felt an itching sensation in her inner thigh, as well as several sensations on her upper back. She immediately panicked and told Robert she did not apply any sort of protection whatsoever and he told her they should quickly go back to her hotel to do so. Even after applying mosquito repellent, Mila still felt itchy throughout her whole exploration. She went to bed that night covered in mosquito bites but she wasn’t worried too much because for the most part, she never experienced any illness from the bites ever. The morning after, she was experiencing a fever and headache but she brushed it off because she thought she was probably exhausted from hiking though the Amazon. A week went by and Mila had experienced body pain and a bit of a rash. She became really worried and went to the hospital on day 5 of experiencing the symptoms.
Physical and Laboratory Findings: Weight:

Blood Pressure:
Temperature:
120 pounds

140/90 mmHg
103° F

Although it was clear what type of disease she had caught, doctors still did some blood work on her to finalize the diagnosis. Mila’s blood work shows a rising level of IgM antibodies.
Diagnosis and Discussion: After the blood work done on Mila, it is crystal clear that she has caught the Wes Nile Virus prior to her stay in Brazil where the Amazon rainforest is located. The West Nile Virus (WNV) is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito that’s already carrying the virus. The mosquito most likely got the disease transmitted from an infected animal it was feeding on which was most likely a bird. Cases in the United States are very rare but there has been a huge outbreak in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and California in 2002. The West Nile Virus can be caught anywhere from Europe, the