Former coronavirus czar Anthony Fauci was hospitalized for six days after contracting the West Nile virus, a spokesperson confirmed.
Fauci, the ex-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is recovering at home after returning from the hospital and is expected to be okay, the spokesperson told CNN on Saturday.
While most people — 80 percent — who are infected with West Nile virus do not experience symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that approximately 20 percent suffer from an array of symptoms like fever, head and body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and rashes.
Around one in 150 people with the virus develop more serious symptoms that impact the central nervous system and experience illnesses like encephalitis or meningitis.
About 10 percent of people who develop those severe illnesses die, according to the CDC.
Fauci, 83, is at a higher risk to get worse symptoms due to his age.
“There is no specific treatment for West Nile,” the health agency said, but listed “rest, fluids, and pain medications” as methods to relieve symptoms.
The virus is most commonly spread through mosquito bites, though it is not clear how Fauci contracted it.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over 2,200 cases are reported in the U.S. each year.
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