Anthony Fauci recovering at home after hospitalization for West Nile virus | Anthony Fauci

Anthony Fauci is recovering at home from a West Nile virus infection, a spokesman told news agencies on Saturday.

The former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was hospitalized for six days because of the virus. Fauci, 83, is expected to make a full recovery.

“Tony Fauci was hospitalized with West Nile virus. He is now at home recovering and is expected to make a full recovery,” a spokesman told several media outlets.

Fauci retired from his position at the CDC in 2022 after receiving widespread recognition for his role in public health communications during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is now a distinguished professor at Georgetown University's School of Medicine.

Despite his departure from the CDC, House Republicans in June called Fauci to a heated hearing on his response to Covid-19. Republican lawmakers accused Fauci of covering up the origins of the virus. Fauci said the claims were “just absurd.”

Fauci told Congress at the time that he and his family still receive death threats. In 2022, a man was sentenced to three years in a federal prison after sending a series of emails threatening Fauci and his family.

West Nile virus is often transmitted to humans through mosquito bites and is asymptomatic in 80% of infected people, according to the CDC. One in five infected people develop fever and other symptoms, including body aches, diarrhea and rash. About 1,000 Americans are hospitalized each year because of the virus.

Although there are no vaccines or treatments for the virus, the CDC recommends protective measures such as using insect repellent to avoid contracting the virus. The virus spreads mainly during the warmer months of summer and early fall.

A study published in April that examined blood samples from 250 people who were hospitalized for other reasons in 2020 and 2021 found that nearly 20 percent of the samples had antibodies to the virus.