West Nile Virus Meningoencephalitis—A Consideration for Earlier Investigation

Abstract

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an arbovirus endemic to many countries and has caused over 56,000 cases, with 2776 deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2022. WNV occurs most often in the fall, typically affecting elderly populations in states like Nebraska and Arizona. Currently, supportive care is the only management for WNV. Our case is a female patient in her mid-70s in an intermountain state who presented in the fall with WNV meningoencephalitis and experienced a delay in care due to the unique clinical presentation. This demonstrates the importance of early inclusion of WNV in the differential for altered mental status, especially with WNV risk factors, and expedition of supportive care. Doing so could potentially reduce antibiotic duration and hospital costs.