Pavel Nový (77) starred decades ago as Pep Zdena Studenková’s film husband in the comedy I enjoy the world with you. In 2007, the popular Czech actor went on vacation to Cyprus, from where he brought an illness that almost cost him his life. In an interview for the show, he admitted that he still feels the effects of the insidious West Nile fever.
The actor explained that he falls several times a day, which is especially a problem in the theater. “Sometimes it takes a lot to keep me from falling. Because I fall three times a day.” Novy shocked. Fortunately, he learned the technique of how to help himself at such a moment in a rehabilitation institution. “I can already stand up on my own, that’s what they taught me in Kladruby – just look at how little children who have just learned to walk pick themselves up,” he added.
In the past, the movie Pepa described the course of this insidious disease and how he dealt with the virus. He attributed the unpleasant tightness in his chest, which appeared during a trip to an island in the Mediterranean Sea, to high blood pressure. He wanted to knock it down with a prescribed pill, but it didn’t work. Nervousness grew, so he and his wife dialed the number from the insurance company’s flyer. “He was a doctor who studied in the Czech Republic, so he wrote a report saying that he could not draw any conclusions, but I was able to be transported home to see a doctor,” he recalled.
After arriving home, 48 hours later he was lying on a bed in a Příbram hospital. Doctors put him on broad-spectrum antibiotics in an infusion and still could not determine the correct diagnosis. To the symptoms that resembled the flu, they added hallucinations with green worms crawling from the wall. He still managed to describe them to the psychiatristwho was called to him, but after his departure, the actor immediately collapsed and found himself on ARO.
On vacation, he was almost fatally bitten by a mosquito there. He has West Nile fever it attacked the nervous system, leading to paralysis of part of his body. During the worst period of the illness, he was completely bedridden and could not move. His condition was so serious that it looked like he might be permanently paralyzed. After overcoming the acute phase of the disease, long-term rehabilitation began, which lasted several months to years. The new one had to gradually regain mobility and strength.
“That’s the disease that the pharaohs were dying from. It also struck me,” he posthumously stated years later. “Although I started having the first symptoms while on vacation, it shook me only in the hospital, where they finally saved my life,” he adds. As the doctors explained to him, the virus caused the brain to swell so much that it pressed on the brain stem responsible for the heart and lungs until it shut down.
Thanks to strong determination and supportive health care, he managed to overcome not only the physical limitations, but also the psychological challenges brought by such a serious disease. After recovering, he gradually returned to his acting career, building on his previous work in television and film.
After this experience, Pavel Nový became a symbol of resilience, and his story of overcoming West Nile fever is an inspiration for many people. His public appearances after his illness showed how important it is not to despair and to fight even in the most difficult situations.
What is West Nile fever?
West Nile fever is an acute febrile illness caused by a virus from the Flaviviridae family. It was first recorded in humans in 1937 in Uganda. It is most often transmitted by mosquitoes, its transmission during organ transplantation, after blood transfusion or transplacentally has also been identified. According to the Office of Public Health (ÚVZ) of the Slovak Republic, transmission from person to person is not realistic.
The incubation period is usually two to 15 days, most often two to six days. The clinical symptoms of the disease include a sudden rise in temperature, headache, sore throat, musculoskeletal pain, increased fatigue, loss of appetite, and the presence of a skin rash. There is currently no specific treatment for West Nile fever, and there is currently no effective vaccine available. According to ÚVZ, prevention is primarily based on protection against mosquito bites.
