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West Nile Virus Marches On
DVM Newsmagazine
9-8-1

Officials are chasing a moving target as the progression of West Nile Virus (WNV) penetrates farther west.
 
The encephalitis strain, which first appeared in the United States in 1999, has spread to 15 states plus the District of Columbia. In the past two years, WNV has spread along the Atlantic coast and has been detected in many birds, horses and at least nine humans from New England to Florida.
 
"The rest of the continental U.S. will be at risk if the virus expands to the Caribbean and Central and South America, which is a likely event," says Robert McLean, DVM, director of the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center.
 
"The worst does not appear to be over if the virus expands to southern locations, where it could be transmitted throughout the year," adds McLean, who spoke on the virus at the recently concluded AVMA annual convention.
 
Because WNV arrived on the scene earlier than in previous summers, government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Geological Survey are stressing the importance of state surveillance programs.
 
Ohio and at least 17 other state health departments send birds to a U.S. Geological Survey laboratory in Madison, Wis. The federal agency has offered to analyze tissue samples for free.
 
 
In the Lab
 
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have teamed with the University of Alabama and Rutgers University to study and identify specific types of mosquitoes most likely to transmit the West Nile virus.
 
Dr. Charles Apperson, entomology professor and lead WNV researcher at NCSU, says identifying the WNV-carrying mosquitoes will allow officials to target specific populations.
 
"The mosquito that transmits the virus to humans and horses is still not known for certain. If we can knock down those mosquitoes early in the season, maybe we won't get virus amplification or transmission going on."
 
Among the mosquito species suspected of being a culprit of transmission of WNV is the Culex mosquito, which hibernates in winter and can carry the virus into the next season.
 
Read the feature by Senior Associate Editor Stephanie Davis in the September issue of DVM Newsmagazine.
 
http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/news/01091newsall.asp#westnile

 
 
 
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