Dr. Anthony Fauci Recovering at Home After 6-Day Hospitalization for West Nile Virus

“A full recovery is expected,” said a spokesperson for the 83-year-old

Dr. Anthony Fauci is in recovery after contracting the West Nile virus.

On Saturday, Aug. 24, a spokesperson for the 83-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told The Washington Postthat he was hospitalized but is now recovering at home.

“A full recovery is expected,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Post reported that an insider close to Fauci said that he is unsure of how he contracted the virus and that he was hospitalized for six days.

Dr. Jonathan LaPook, CBS News’ chief medical correspondent, posted on X that he had spoken with Fauci, who told him he was hospitalized about 10 days ago and he had developed "fever, chills and severe fatigue."

"Evaluation revealed that he had been infected with the West Nile virus, likely from a mosquito bite that he got in his backyard,” LaPook wrote. “He left the hospital three days ago and is recovering at home.”

LaPook also said, “The prognosis is for a full recovery."

Related: Dr. Fauci 'In Awe' of Wife Dr. Christine Grady: 'She Did Three Things While I Was Doing One'

West Nile virus is often spread through the bite of an infected mosquito (or sometimes birds), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can be found in the U.S. as well as in other parts of the world. Symptoms of the virus can include developing a fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rashes.

Although there is no vaccine for West Nile virus, the CDC says that people can avoid contracting the disease by using bug spray, wearing long sleeves or pants if they know they'll be around mosquitos and taking steps to prevent mosquitos from getting indoors.

Fauci served in the NIH for more than four decades, advising to help create public policy to deal with HIV/AIDS, SARS, MERS, avian influenza, swine flu, Zika and Ebola. Throughout his career, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service and 62 honorary doctoral degrees.

He gained notoriety in 2020 for his work advising the public and then-president Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related: Dr. Fauci Stays Hopeful for the Future of Science: 'Better Angels Will Come Out' (Exclusive)

He retired in 2023, and PEOPLE reported that he now serves as a Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University with a joint appointment in the School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy.

Speaking with PEOPLE in July about his new memoir, On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service, he opened up about what he learned over his decades-long career, as well as the American public's changing attitudes about science and public health.

“I'm not naive,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I'm aware of the destructive nature of the anti-science attitude that has been accelerating in society over the past several years.” He added that the problem “didn’t start with the Trump administration,” even if it was “given a big jumpstart with the Trump administration.”

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“I still feel as somewhat of a cautious optimist that there are the better angels in everybody that will come out,” he explained.

“And if people start to really realize that we're much more the same than we are different, we will get away from … that vitriol and that hatred because that's untenable,” Fauci added. “And even if you are on that camp of being vitriolic, deep down, you gotta realize that that's not a solution. It's just not."

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