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Review
. 2004 Apr;113(8):1102-7.
doi: 10.1172/JCI21623.

West Nile virus: a growing concern?

Affiliations
Review

West Nile virus: a growing concern?

L Hannah Gould et al. J Clin Invest. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

West Nile virus was first detected in North America in 1999 and has subsequently spread throughout the United States and Canada and into Mexico and the Caribbean. This review describes the epidemiology and ecology of West Nile virus in North America and the prospects for effective treatments and vaccines.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
WNV activity in North America as of January 2004. Shading represents areas in which virus activity has been recorded. 1, Chihuahua; 2, Coahuila; 3, Tamaulipas; 4, Veracruz; 5, Tabasco; 6, Yucatan.
Figure 2
Figure 2
WNV is maintained in an enzootic mosquito-bird-mosquito cycle. Humans and other mammals serve as dead-end hosts and do not sufficiently amplify virus for mosquito transmission, although they may transmit or acquire virus in utero, through breast milk, via blood transfusion or organ transplantation, or through occupational exposure.

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