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West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae, found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, and domestic rabbits. The main route of human infection is through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Image reconstructions and cryoelectron microscopy reveal 50-nm virions covered with a relatively smooth protein surface. This structure is remarkably similar to the dengue fever virus. Both belong to the genus flavivirus within the family Flaviviridae.

Symptoms and Treatments


In most people (80%), infection causes no symptoms. In others, the virus causes mild flu-like symptoms known as West Nile fever. The virus is able to pass the blood-brain barrier, and the most serious effects (in 0.7% of the infected) are encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord), both of which can be fatal. Persons over 50 years of age are at higher risk of developing severe disease, the symptoms of which include fever, nausea, and changes in mental status. In rare cases (first reported October 2002), patients may develop temporary blindness which can last from one to four weeks. This will begin as partial blindness but the person's vision will rapidly deteriorate to total blindness. Very rarely meningismus (stiff neck) is reported.

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Conditions and Diseases :: Equine
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West Nile Virus - Twitter Search

RT @ProMED_mail: PRO/AH/EDR> West Nile virus: persistent infection http://bit.ly/5tQx6T
BiteOfAMosquito (Krisztian Magori) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:46:27 -0000
RT @ProMED_mail: PRO/AH/EDR> West Nile virus: persistent infection http://bit.ly/5tQx6T
PRO/AH/EDR> West Nile virus: persistent infection http://bit.ly/5tQx6T
ProMED_mail (ProMED-mail) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:41:37 -0000
PRO/AH/EDR> West Nile virus: persistent infection http://bit.ly/5tQx6T
New Post- West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? http://bit.ly/4tbWS3
PumpHandleBlog (The Pump Handle) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:25:51 -0000
New Post- West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? http://bit.ly/4tbWS3
West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? http://bit.ly/8x1FEV
banditelli (banditelli) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:22:23 -0000
West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? http://bit.ly/8x1FEV
West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? : Effect Measure http://bit.ly/6Qf8hr #kidneys
savantmd (savantmd) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:18:27 -0000
West Nile Virus in your kidneys? Really? : Effect Measure http://bit.ly/6Qf8hr #kidneys
AFD Blog `Referral: @EffectMeasure on West Nile Virus' http://bit.ly/5gvCSC EM blog http://bit.ly/58Y0dZ
Fla_Medic (Michael Coston) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:33:41 -0000
AFD Blog `Referral: @EffectMeasure on West Nile Virus' http://bit.ly/5gvCSC EM blog http://bit.ly/58Y0dZ

 
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CDC: West Nile Virus - Describes the entomology, and gives details of the NYC area outbreak, as well as providing background information on surveillance, control, and prevention.
Meta Description: [ The West Nile Virus Home Page of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. government. ]

National Pesticide Information Center: West Nile Virus - Features disease information, links, statistics, and maps.

Alabama: West Nile Virus - Information about the disease in the state.

404 Alberta Health and Wellness: West Nile Virus - Features prevention tips and disease information.

American Academy of Pediatrics: West Nile Virus Information - History and prevention of the disease.

amp; Human Services - West Nile Virus in Montana - Features fact sheet and information on the disease in the state.

Annals of Internal Medicine: West Nile Virus: A Primer for the Clinician - Provides doctors with information on the diagnosis, reporting, and management of patients with suspected West Nile virus infection.

Arbovirus Information Web Site - Arbovirus Information for Massachusetts, includes hotline, daily mosquito and bird update, news releases, and fact sheets.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus Information Web Site Homepage ]

Are Crows the New Plague Carriers? - Discussed the connection between the West Nile virus and large-scale deaths of crows. Concludes that horses and migratory birds are the main vectors for spread of the disease.

Arizona: West Nile Virus Surveillance and Prevention - Includes facts about the disease and the prevention program in the state.

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology: West Nile Virus - History of the disease, articles, and links.
Meta Description: [ Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology is an association of healthcare professionals working to reduce, control and prevent infections associated with or acquired in a healthcare setting. ]

BBC News: Killer virus 'may have reached UK' - News article on the disease.
Meta Description: [ The West Nile virus, which has killed more than 188 people in the US so far this year, may be present in UK birds, say scientists. ]

California West Nile Virus Surveillance Information Center - Information on the disease and prevention of the disease in the state.
Meta Description: [ The website for West Nile Virus education, statistics, and dead bird reporting for California. ]

CBC News - West Nile Virus - Discussion of the spread of the disease in Canada. Includes information on patients, blood screening, tests, and prevention, as well as provincial statistics and media clips.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus ]

CDC - West Nile Virus in Mexico: Evidence of Widespread Circulation since July 2002 - Article on the disease's spread in Mexico.

Chicago Department of Public Health: West Nile Virus - Features press releases, fact sheet, mosquito control information, and treatment areas.

Colorado West Nile Virus Information - From the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Press releases and information about the disease in the state.
Meta Description: [ West Nile virus information from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ]

Cornell West Nile Virus Bibliography of Scientific Literature - Bibliography, including links, of scientific articles related to the West Nile Virus.

District of Columbia Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Features disease information, mosquito control measures, brochures, and information for clinicians.

eMedicinehealth - West Nile Virus - Dr. David Donson offers a report on the symptoms of West Nile virus infection such as flulike fever, encephalitis, and meningitis. Includes information on emergency care and mosquito bite prevention tips.
Meta Description: [ West Nile virus is transmitted to humans by a mosquito bite. The virus can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and ... ]

European Commission Public Health: West Nile Virus - Features disease information, outbreaks, press releases, publications, projects, and documents.
Meta Description: [ European Commission - Public Health, West Nile virus (WNV) has been recognised since 1937 when it was first isolated in Uganda. ]

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services West Nile Virus Information - Press releases, FAQs, emergency management plan, resources for virus information, and contacts.
Meta Description: [ The Division of Animal Industry is responsible for enforcing animal health regulations in Florida and protecting the state from animal pests and diseases, which have a major economic and public health consequence. ]

Florida State Arboviral Encephalitis and West Nile Virus Information - Information for physicians, maps of locations, press releases, and how to report incidences of the diseases.
Meta Description: [ Florida Arboviral Encephalitis and West Nile Virus Information ]

Food and Drug Administration: West Nile Virus - Features information about the possibility of the virus being in blood products, plus other fact sheets and links.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus ]

Georgia Department of Public Health - Vector-borne Diseases - Information on West Nile virus and other mosquito borne diseases in the state.

Hawaii: West Nile Virus Information Center - Includes disease information, brochures, FAQ, and notice to clinicians.

Idaho West Nile Virus - Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Communicable Disease Prevention. General information and prevention measures.
Meta Description: [ Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Internet Portal. ]

Illinois Department of Public Health: West Nile Virus - Information about the disease in the state, including news releases, surveillance information, and public education.

Indiana State Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Features news releases, links, maps, and references. In English and Spanish.

Inside Illinois: UI lab confirms first cases of West Nile in canines, squirrels - News report of the confirmation of fatal cases of the diease in squirrels, a wolf, and a dog.

Iowa West Nile Virus Surveillance and Dead Bird Submission - Includes map and newsletter for health care providers.
Meta Description: [ CADE - West Nile Virus Surveillance ]

Kansas Epidemiologic Services: West Nile Virus - Includes fact sheets, news releases, and links.
Meta Description: [ Kansas Department of Health and Environment, health, environment, lab, laboratories, statistics, birth,birth certificates, Kansas birth certificates, death, death certificates, marriage, divorce, vital, Kansas, State of Kansas, Kansas Health Department, Kansas Department of Health, Kansas Departm... ]

Kentucky Department for Public Health: West Nile Virus - Information about the disease and mosquito control information.

Kids and the West Nile Virus - Risk and symptoms of the disease in children.
Meta Description: [ The West Nile virus has been spreading westward across the United States, causing infections in some people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes. Are your children at risk? ]

Kidshealth: West Nile Virus - Factsheets with cause, symptoms, and prevention.
Meta Description: [ The threat of West Nile virus has made getting a mosquito bite a cause for concern. What is West Nile virus, and what can you do to prevent it? ]

le Virus - Features press releases, surveillance, hotline, and educational materials.

Louisiana OPH - Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program: West Nile Virus and Other Arboviruses - Surveillance for West Nile Virus was initiated in Louisiana in 2000, sentinels include 16 hospital emergency rooms, chicken flocks, mosquitoes, horses, and birds.

404 Maine West Nile Virus Home - West Nile Virus information page for the state of Maine.
Meta Description: [ The Official Web Site of the State of Maine - Your gateway to Maine state government and information about living, working, visiting, business, education, and history in Maine. Featuring online government services. ]

MayoClinic.com - West Nile Virus - Features signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Meta Description: [ West Nile virus — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, treatment, prevention of this mosquito-borne illness. ]

MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: West Nile Virus - Includes cause, risk factors, prognosis, diagnosis, complications, tests, and prevention.

MEDLINEplus: West Nile Virus - Features news stories and links.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus ]

Minnesota Department of Health : West Nile Virus and Other Mosquito-Transmitted Diseases - Features maps, fact sheets, links, and information about the disease in the state.

Mississippi State Department Of Health: West Nile Virus - Information, news releases and forms.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus, Arbovirus, Encephalitis, Lyme Disease ]

National Audubon Society: West Nile Virus - Information on the disease and its effects on humans and birds.

National Biological Information Infrastructure : West Nile Virus - Provides data, information, and maps related to outbreaks of the West Nile virus and mosquito-borne encephalitis in the United States.
Meta Description: [ This section of National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) provides data, information, and maps related to outbreaks of the West Nile virus and mosquito-borne encephalitis in the United States. ]

National Safety Council Fact Sheet : West Nile Virus - Includes information about the disease and the mosquitoes that carry it.
Meta Description: [ The West Nile Virus is primarily a disease of birds. It is commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East, but has also caused outbreaks in Europe. In humans, it can cause encephalitis, an infection of the brain. West Nile Virus is similar to the virus that causes St. Louis enceph... ]

Nebraska HHS System: West Nile Virus Surveillance Program - Includes fact sheets, surveillance information and forms, and links.

404 Nevada: West Nile Virus - General information on the disease and brochures.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus ]

New Hampshire: West Nile Virus - General overview-history of West Nile virus, prevention, treatment, reporting processes and forms, and test results.
Meta Description: [ General overview-history of West Nile virus, prevention, treatment, reporting processes-forms, test results. Central point to access topical files-fact sheets organized by people, animals, birds, mosquito control. ]

New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, West Nile Virus - Features articles, news stories, and fact sheet.
Meta Description: [ Westnile virus Alert and Factsheets... ]

404 New Mexico Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Includes updates on the virus in the state and brochures on the disease.

New Scientist: Traces of West Nile virus found in UK birds - First reported confirmation of antibodies to the disease in UK birds.
Meta Description: [ The first ever survey reveals widespread antibodies to the potentially deadly virus, but the risk to people is low ]

New York City Department of Health - West Nile Virus - Information, fact sheets, reporting forms and local news related to the West Nile Virus in the New York City area.

New York Hospital Queens - Provides information about the investigational treatment protocol for West Nile Virus employing alpha interferon.
Meta Description: [ This page provides information about the investigational treatment protocol for West Nile Virus employing alpha interferon. ]

New York State Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Features information on the disease in the state, journalist's guide to the West Nile Virus, and fact sheet for healthcare providers.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus in New York State - New York State Department of Health ]

North Carolina: West Nile Virus - Information and reports on the disease in the state.

North Dakota Arbovirus Encephalitis Surveillance Program - West Nile surveillance information for the state.

Ohio West Nile Virus - Information about the diease in the state.

On Watch for West Nile Virus in Oklahoma - Feature fact sheets, surveillance reports, and dead bird reporting information.
Meta Description: [ Oklahoma State Department of Health West Nile Virus Page ]

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care: West Nile Virus - Includes publications and surveillance activities.

Oregon Public Health Services : West Nile Virus - Includes fact sheets and reporting information on the disease in the state.
Meta Description: [ Oregon West Nile virus information, data surveillance, cases, specimen collection procedures ]

Pennsylvania: West Nile Virus - News releases and information about the disease in the state.

Postgraduate Medicine: West Nile Virus Infection - Medical and scientific article on the virus and disease.

Research on West Nile Virus - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases fact sheet.

Rhode Island: West Nile Virus - Links and information about the disease and mosquito control in the state.

South Carolina: West Nile Virus - Information and resources on the disease in the state.

South Dakota Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Information about the disease in the state, links, and fact sheets.
Meta Description: [ This site explains what West Nile Virus is, how it is transmitted, and how it can be prevented. It provides surveillance information about human West Nile Virus cases in South Dakota along with bird, horse, and mosquito pool detection. It includes links to other useful sites. ]

State and Local Government Sites - West Nile Virus - Links to official sites, including how to report dead birds.
Meta Description: [ The West Nile Virus Home Page of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. government. ]

404 Tennessee: West Nile Virus - Features fact sheets, disease and vector information, and surveillance information.

Texas Department of Health Zoonosis Control Division - West Nile Virus - Information about the disease in humans, horses, and birds in Texas. Includes maps, statistics, news releases, and fact sheets about the disease.
Meta Description: [ First page for West Nile Virus in Texas ]

404 TheHorse.com: West Nile Virus - Information and articles about the disease and its effects on horses and humans.
Meta Description: [ The latest horse news and veterinarian-approved equine health care information from TheHorse.com ]

US Department of Agriculture: West Nile Virus - Information on the current status of this disease and its prevention and control in horses, poultry, and other livestock.

USA Today: 21 West Nile deaths reported in Illinois in worst outbreak in the country - News article about the human cases of the disease in the Chicago area, plus links to other stories concerning the disease.
Meta Description: [ Bob Meisenheimer liked to sit in his back yard with friends on sultry summer nights, wearing a T-shirt and trying to solve the world's problems. The one that killed him West Nile virus has authorities scrambling for answers. ]

Utah: West Nile Virus - Includes fact sheets, press releases, and information about the disease in the state.
Meta Description: [ Utah Department of Health West Nile Virus Information ]

404 Vermont Department of Health: West Nile Virus Information - Includes fact sheet, news releases, and state surveillance and response plan.

404 Virginia Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Includes reporting information, prevention tips, and surveillance information in the state.

Vitritis and Chorioretinitis in a Patient With West Nile Virus Infection - Abstract of Archives of Ophthalmology article about a patient presenting with floaters and other eye problems.
Meta Description: [ Archives of Ophthalmology is a monthly professional medical journal published by the American Medical Association. Archives of Ophthalmology publishes peer-reviewed, original articles on such topics as epidemiology and biostatistics, mechanisms of ophthalmic disease, ophthalmic molecular genetics... ]

Washington State Department of Health: West Nile Virus - Includes press releases, FAQ, and brochures.
Meta Description: [ The Washington State Department of Health's West Nile Virus website is a great resource of information on West Nile virus intended for the general public, health care providers, veterinarians, local health departments, and mosquito control districts. ]

washingtonpost.com: West Nile Virus - Archive of news stories about the disease in birds, horses, and people, with emphasis on the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

West Nile Fever.com - Fact sheet, tips for prevention, symptoms and care, West Nile Hotlines and spray schedules.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Fever provides information about West Nile virus, Mosquito Control, and West Nile symptoms. ]

West Nile Fever: A Medical Detective Story - The story behind the discovery and identification of West Nile Virus during its initial 1999 outbreak in NYC.

404 West Nile Virus - Background information for journalists covering the topic.
Meta Description: [ The National Safety Council is a membership organization with resources on safety, health and environmental topics, training, products, publications, news, and more. ]

West Nile Virus - Fact sheets and advisories from the US Geological Survey as well as link to additional information.

West Nile Virus - Policies, research, fact sheets, and other West Nile Virus information from the Department Of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus (WNV) - Policies, Research, Fact Sheets, Relaited Links, Patied Education. ]

West Nile Virus - Reports on West Nile Virus, press releases, educational resources, and test specimen collection contact information.
Meta Description: [ Emerging Disease Issues - West Nile Virus ]

West Nile Virus - Vads Corner - Features links to information about the disease, with the focus on news links.

West Nile Virus and Bird Surveillance Program in Kansas - Offers information on the status of West Nile Virus in Kansas, gives information on how to report a dead bird, and provides links to additional sites for information on west nile virus in North America.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus Surveillance program in Kansas, reporting on the status of mosquito trapping, reports of dead birds and blood sampling from around the state ]

West Nile Virus Information - West Nile Virus information and resources from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Meta Description: [ What is West Nile encephalitis? West Nile Virus: Questions and Answers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ]

500 West Nile Virus Information Page - From Virginia Tech University. Links and articles.

West Nile Virus Maps - nationalatlas.gov - Maps showing west nile virus distribution from 2002 - 2004.
Meta Description: [ This is a map layer description page ]

West Nile Virus Moves Into Wisconsin - Information from the Medical College of Wisconsin, stressing that no human cases have been found in the state, and recommending mosquito protection.
Meta Description: [ West Nile Virus has been introduced to Wisconsin, and apparently it’s here to stay. ]

West Nile Virus Response Manual - A free stat manual for the identification, management and treatment of the West Nile Virus.

West Nile Virus Surveillance Information - Bureau of Infectious Diseases - PPHB - Health Canada - Information about the disease and the efforts in Canada to detect it.
Meta Description: [ The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC) and National Microbiology Laboratory produce weekly or biweekly West Nile Virus MONITOR reports, summarizing West Nile virus surveillance activities in Canada. ]

West Virginia: West Nile Virus - Brochures and information about the disease in the state.

Wisconsin: West Nile Virus - Includes news releases, state statistics, surveillance, and brochures.

Wyoming West Nile Virus Information - Includes news releases, surveillance information in the state, forms, and fact sheet.

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