What is it?
West Nile Virus (WNV) is an infectious disease that was first discovered in Uganda, Africa in 1937. It then spread slowly through the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and West Asia. The first U.S. cases of WNV were reported in New York in 1999. Since then, the viral infection has moved steadily west and south and is now found in Canada and every state in the U.S. except Hawaii and Alaska. West Nile Virus makes headlines each year as outbreaks of cases begin to appear in the summer and increase through the fall and as the medical community tracks its emergence and campaigns for its prevention.
WNV is a mosquito-borne virus and belongs to the flavivirus group that causes illness in many regions of the world. Other flaviviruses are responsible for conditions such as dengue fever and yellow fever. These infections can affect both humans and a variety of animals. WNV tends to be seasonal in the United States but in tropical areas of the world flavivirus infections may occur year round.
The most common route of WNV transmission is through a mosquito bite. When a mosquito bites an infected bird, it becomes infected and can then transmit the virus to other animals that it bites. It is estimated that about 1 in 200 mosquitoes harbors the virus. Although WNV is usually not transmitted person-to-person, there have been cases of WNV being passed on to others through blood donations, organ transplants, and rarely from a mother to child through breast milk. In July 2003, most blood centers in the United States began screening donated units of blood for the presence of WNV. Since that time millions of units of blood have been tested.
As of September 18, 2007, there have been 1,982 confirmed human cases of WNV in the U.S. in 2007 and 49 deaths attributed to it as the cause. For the most current numbers, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's West Nile Virus web site.
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