Also called: Also called: WNV
West Nile virus (WNV) is an infectious disease that first appeared in the United States in 1999. Infected mosquitoes spread the virus that causes it. People who contract WNV usually have no symptoms or mild symptoms. Those with symptoms may have a fever, headache, body aches, skin rash or swollen lymph glands.
If West Nile virus enters the brain, however, it can be deadly. It may cause inflammation of the brain, called encephalitis, or inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.
Older people are most at risk. There are no specific vaccines or treatments for human WNV disease. The easiest and best way to avoid WNV is to prevent mosquito bites:
- Use insect repellent
- Get rid of mosquito breeding sites by emptying standing water from flower pots, buckets or barrels
- Stay indoors between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active
- Use screens on windows to keep mosquitoes out
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- West Nile Virus: Questions and Answers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm
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West Nile Virus: What You Need to Know(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factSheet.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/spanish/wnv_factSheet_Spanish.htm
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West Nile Virus(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/viral/790.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/common/viral/790.printerview.html
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West Nile Virus(Food and Drug Administration, Office of Women's Health) - http://www.fda.gov/womens/getthefacts/westnile.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.fda.gov/womens/getthefacts/spanish/westnile-spanish.html
- West Nile Virus(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/west-nile-virus/DS00438/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Course of West Nile Infection Charted(03/18/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81856.html
- FDA Approves First Fully Automated Test to Screen for West Nile Virus in Blood and Tissue Donors(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01578.html
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Fight the Bite! Avoid Mosquito Bites to Avoid Infection(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/prevention_info.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/spanish/prevention_info_spanish.htm
- Five Common Myths about West Nile Virus(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/WNVmyths.htm
- Mosquito Control(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs) - http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/
- Permethrin-Impregnated Clothing: For Service Members and Their Families(Dept. of Defense, Deployment Health Clinical Center) - Links to PDF - http://deploymenthealthlibrary.fhp.osd.mil/products/Permethrin%20-%20Impregnated%20Clothing%20(242).pdf
- What You Need to Know about Mosquito Repellent(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/mosquitorepellent.htm
- West Nile Virus Poliomyelitis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/Poliomyelitis.htm
- Questions and Answers about False-Positive Results with a Commercially-Available West Nile Virus Test Kit(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_DiagnosticsUpdate.html
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West Nile Virus and Dead Birds(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/wnv_birds.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/spanish/wnv_Birds_Spanish.htm
- West Nile Virus in the Workplace(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/westnile/
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What You Should Know about West Nile Virus(American Veterinary Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/wnv/wnv_brochure.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/wnv/wnv_brochure_spanish.asp
- ClinicalTrials.gov: West Nile Fever(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22West+Nile+Fever%22
- Do People with West Nile Virus Infection Eventually Return to Normal Health?(American College of Physicians) - Links to PDF - http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/149/4/I-34.pdf
- NIAID's Role in Addressing West Nile Virus(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/westNile/default.htm
- Article: Infectious exanthem. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19375548&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Distribution and abundance of host-seeking Culex species at three proximate... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19346396&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: The host immunologic response to West Nile encephalitis virus. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19273254&tool=MedlinePlus
- West Nile Virus -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=west+nile+virus[majr]+OR+west+nile+virus+vaccines[mh]+OR+west+nile+fever[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Links to State and Local Government West Nile Virus Web Sites(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/city_states.htm
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
- 2008 West Nile Virus Activity in the United States(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/Mapsactivity/surv&control08Maps.htm
- West Nile Virus Maps(U.S. Geological Survey) - http://diseasemaps.usgs.gov/wnv_us_human.html
- Buzz-z-z-z on West Nile Virus(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.bam.gov/sub_diseases/diseases_westnile.html
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What's West Nile Virus?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/aches/west_nile.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/cuerpo/west_nile_esp.html
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West Nile Virus(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/bacterial_viral/west_nile.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/west_nile_esp.html
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West Nile Virus, Pregnancy and Breast-Feeding(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/breastfeeding.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/spanish/wnv_breast_Spanish.htm
- Encephalitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encephalitis.html
- Insect Bites and Stings - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/insectbitesandstings.html
- Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
- Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
The primary NIH organization for research on West Nile Virus is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
West Nile Virus - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/westnilevirus.html