Former top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci is recovering from West Nile virus after being hospitalised with the mosquito-borne illness for nearly a week, he told Stat News on Saturday.

Fauci, 83, became the face of the US government’s efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. He retired in December 2022 after 54 years at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) including 38 serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

In an interview with Stat News on Saturday (local time), Fauci said he had spent six days in a hospital starting 16 August while doctors tried to discern the source of his weakness, fever and chills. He then tested positive for West Nile virus, and he told the digital news outlet: “I’ve never been as sick in my life.”

Reuters could not immediately reach him for comment.

The virus is spread by infected mosquitoes. There were about 2500 cases reported in the US last year and 182 deaths from the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are no specific treatments or vaccine for the disease.

Fauci said he expects to make a full recovery although it may take several weeks for him to return to normal, Stat reported.

– Reuters