I don’t know if anyone has answered your post because I’m too sleepy to read all of them. It’s in Houston, too.
I can’t stay awake and have weird dreams. I’ve read that’s one of the symptoms. And I also read that all you can do is wait it out. I’m trying to find out how long the symptoms last if it doesn’t kill you.
West Nile virus (WNV) is one of the Japanese encephalitis (JE) antigenic serocomplex of viruses, in the family Flaviviridae. It is found in both temperate and tropical regions, having been first identified in the West Nile sub-region in the East African nation of Uganda in 1937.
WNV mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic rabbits, crocodiles[1] and alligators.[2] The main route of human infection is through the bite of an infected mosquito. Approximately 80 percent of West Nile virus infections in humans are without any symptoms.[3]
The West Nile virus produces one of three different outcomes in humans. The first is an asymptomatic infection; the second is a mild febrile syndrome termed West Nile fever;[4] the third is a neuroinvasive disease termed West Nile meningitis or encephalitis.[5] The population proportion of these three states is roughly 110:30:1.[6]
The second, febrile stage has an incubation period of two to eight days followed by fever, headache, chills, diaphoresis (excessive sweating), weakness, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), drowsiness, pain in the joints and symptoms like those of influenza. Occasionally, some patients experience a short-lived truncal rash or gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, or diarrhea. Symptoms are generally resolved within seven to 10 days, although fatigue can persist for some weeks and lymphadenopathy up to two months.
The more dangerous encephalitis is characterized by similar early symptoms, but also a decreased level of consciousness, sometimes approaching near-coma. Deep tendon reflexes are hyperactive at first, later diminished. There are also extrapyramidal symptoms. Recovery is marked by a long convalescence with fatigue...
More recent outbreaks have resulted in a deeper study of the disease and other, rarer, outcomes have been identified. The spinal cord may be infected, marked by anterior myelitis with or without encephalitis.[7] WNV-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome has been identified[8] and other rare effects include multifocal chorioretinitis (which has 100% specificity for identifying WNV infection in patients with possible WNV encephalitis),[9] hepatitis, myocarditis, nephritis, pancreatitis, and splenomegaly.[10][11][12]
...The more severe outcomes of WNV infection are clearly associated with advancing age[27] and a patient history of organ transplantation[28] and diabetes[citation needed]. A genetic factor also appears to increase susceptibility to West Nile disease.
Source: Wikipedia