Anthony Fauci hospitalized after testing positive for West Nile virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was hospitalized after testing positive for West Nile virus.

Fauci, a longtime public health official who rose to prominence as part of the White House coronavirus task force, has since been discharged and is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesman said.

“Tony Fauci was hospitalized with a case of West Nile virus. He is now at home recovering. A full recovery is expected,” the spokesman said in a statement provided to the ^ “Washington Post: The Secret World”. The outlet reported that Fauci spent six days in the hospital before being released.

Fauci, 83, led NIAID for nearly four decades before retiring in 2022. In addition to leading the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he rose to notoriety after becoming the target of political attacks by then-President Donald Trump.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), West Nile virus is the most common cause of mosquito-borne disease in the Americas and is most commonly transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Cases of West Nile virus occur during mosquito season, which begins in the summer and continues into the fall.

There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat West Nile in people, although most people infected with the virus do not feel sick. About one in five infected people develops fever and other symptoms. According to the CDC, about one in 150 infected people develops severe, sometimes fatal illness.

Although he left the administration nearly two years ago, Fauci continues to face fierce political attacks from Republicans in Congress for his role in the country's response to the coronavirus.

In June, he testified before a House investigative committee where GOP lawmakers accused him of orchestrating a cover-up of the virus's origins. At the time, he called the allegations “simply absurd.”

After leaving the government, Fauci joined the faculty at Georgetown University and is now a distinguished professor at the university's medical school. He also serves at the university's McCourt School of Public Policy.

Fauci's recently published memoirsOn call: The path of a doctor in public service, Among other things, he describes his last conversation with Trump, in which the former president said he would destroy his Democratic rival Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

“I'm going to win this election by a landslide,” Trump told Fauci, according to the book. “Just wait and see. I've always done things my way. And I always win, no matter what all these other damn people think. And that damn Biden. He's so damn stupid. I'm going to kick his ass in this election.”

Biden defeated Trump in 2020, and Fauci remained Biden's chief medical adviser until he retired in 2022.