West Nile Virus

(WNV) West Nile Virus West Nile virus belongs to a group of enveloped RNA viruses called Flavivirus whose members such as Japanese encephalitis virus, St. Louis encephalitis, etc. are transmissible by mosquitoes and have been shown to cause animal and human infection. West Nile virus was first isolated in 1937 from the blood of a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda. West Nile virus is maintained in zoonotic cycles, mainly through the bird-mosquito cycle …

…Europe occurred in Romania, in 1996, with a high rate of neurological infections. Until recently, West Nile virus infection had never been diagnosed in the Western Hemisphere. According to a CDC study of an epidemic of 393 cases of laboratory-confirmed West Nile meningoencephalitis in southeast Romania, the risk factors for this epidemic are: (1) mosquitoes in the home, (2) flooded basements, (3) spending more time outdoors. Disease prevention efforts should focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and reducing mosquito exposure.