Guidelines for surveillance, prevention, and control of West Nile virus infection--United States

Abstract

The introduction of West Nile (WN) virus in the northeastern United States during the summer and fall of 1999 raised the issue of preparedness of public health agencies to handle sporadic and outbreak-associated vector-borne diseases. In many local and state health departments, vector-borne disease capacity has diminished. Because it is unknown whether the virus can persist over the winter, whether it has already or will spread to new geographic locations, and the public health and animal health implications of this introduction, it is important to establish proactive laboratory-based surveillance and prevention and control programs to limit the impact of the virus in the United States. On November 8 and 9, 1999, CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cosponsored a meeting of experts representing a wide range of disciplines to review the outbreak and to provide input and guidance on the programs that should be developed to monitor WN virus activity and to prevent future outbreaks of disease. This report summarizes the guidelines established during this meeting.