---
title: "Dr. Fauci Hospitalized With Rare Disease"
description: "Anthony Fauci, who became synonymous with the American government's response to the COVID pandemic, was struck with the rare West Nile virus."
date: "2024-08-26"
modified: "2024-08-26"
authors:
  - name: "Sharon Adarlo"
    job_title: "Correspondent"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/sadarlo"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fauci-hospitalized-west-nile"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Medical"
  - "Pathogens"
  - "Viruses"
tags:
  - "anthony fauci"
  - "covid"
  - "covid pandemic"
  - "west nile virus"
---

# Dr. Fauci Hospitalized With Rare Disease

![Anthony Fauci, who became synonymous with the American government's response to the COVID pandemic, was struck with the rare West Nile virus.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/fauci-hospitalized-west-nile.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Chip Somodevilla via Getty\</em\>*

Anthony Fauci, the doctor who became synonymous with the American government's response to the COVID pandemic, was hospitalized with a virus — this time the rare West Nile virus, [according to *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/25/us/fauci-west-nile-virus-hospitalized.html>), though he's now recovering at home.

Fauci, the 83-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, [told *CBS*](<https://x.com/DrLaPook/status/1827365262477418793>) that he started feeling tired, chilly and feverish earlier this month.

After he tested positive for West Nile, Fauci surmised that he must have gotten a mosquito bite, the main vector for the virus, while he was in his backyard.

A spokesperson speaking to the *NYT* confirmed that Fauci was now home after hospital treatment, and that a full recovery is expected.

https://twitter.com/DrLaPook/status/1827365262477418793

The news about Fauci's illness solicited online well wishes for his recovery, but it also attracted people with not-so-kind words, lingering blowback from his [prominent position among people](<https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/06/13/dr-anthony-fauci-right-wing-media-stelter-pkg-rs-vpx.cnn>) who hated the pandemic lockdowns or the COVID vaccines.

An ongoing misinformation campaign has been leveled against the doctor, who for years previous had been seen as a mostly [non-partisan medical expert](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/health/gallery/anthony-fauci/index.html>), serving both Democrat and Republican presidents until anti-vaccine activists and political opportunists painted him as Public Enemy No. 1 for the [government's faltering response to the COVID pandemic](<https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2020/5-ways-the-us-botched-the-response-to-covid-19>) and the public push for vaccines.

There's [very little evidence that the COVID vaccine](<https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/no-evidence-link-uk-excess-deaths-covid-19-vaccines-2024-02-06/>) does much besides prevent severe coronavirus symptoms, though conspiracy theorists have continued to insist without evidence that it [alters your DNA or causes various medical problems](<https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/myths-facts.html>).

As for West Nile virus, there is [no known vaccine](<https://www.cdc.gov/west-nile-virus/hcp/treatment-prevention/index.htm>) approved for human use. Like what Fauci experienced, the [common signs of the virus](<https://www.hhs.gov/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice/climate-change-health-equity/climate-health-outlook/vector-pathogen-ecology/index.htm>) include fevers, chills, muscle aches and nausea.

People infected by a mild form of the virus should expect a full recovery, but the [worst cases](<https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/patient-information/conditions-treated-a-to-z/west-nile-virus>) can lead to brain damage or death.

And though relatively rare compared to the [common flu](<https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm>), it's still considered the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States, with [more than 2,000 people diagnosed with West Nile](<https://www.hhs.gov/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice/climate-change-health-equity/climate-health-outlook/vector-pathogen-ecology/index.html>) each year.

But West Nile's spread is projected to [become worse](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/10/west-nile-virus-spread-symptoms/>) with the rising impact of climate change, which may necessitate the development of a vaccine for the greater public.

Will the people who scoffed at Fauci seek such a vaccine if West Nile becomes a big enough problem?

Their track record points towards no, and ultimately that's their loss.

**More on Anthony Fauci:** [*Dr. Fauci Catches Covid for the First Time*](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fauci-catches-covid>)