Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Tribute to the author, Norman Gratz
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The vector- and rodent-borne diseases of Europe
- 2 Vector and rodent-borne diseases in European history
- 3 The arboviruses
- 4 The mosquito-borne arboviruses of Europe
- 5 Mosquito-borne diseases of Europe – malaria
- 6 Mosquito-borne filarial infections
- 7 Sandfly-borne diseases
- 8 Ceratopogonidae -- biting midge-borne diseases
- 9 Dipteran-caused infections – myiasis
- 10 The flea-borne diseases
- 11 The louse-borne diseases
- 12 Tick-borne diseases of Europe
- 13 Mite-borne infections and infestations
- 14 Cockroaches and allergies
- 15 Vector-borne disease problems associated with introduced vectors in Europe
- 16 Factors augmenting the incidence, prevalence and distribution of vector-borne diseases in Europe
- 17 The potential effect of climate change on vector-borne diseases in Europe
- 18 The rodent-borne diseases of Europe
- 19 The economic impact and burden of vector- and rodent-borne diseases in Europe
- Part II The vector- and rodent-borne diseases of North America
- References
- Index
4 - The mosquito-borne arboviruses of Europe
from Part I - The vector- and rodent-borne diseases of Europe
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Tribute to the author, Norman Gratz
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The vector- and rodent-borne diseases of Europe
- 2 Vector and rodent-borne diseases in European history
- 3 The arboviruses
- 4 The mosquito-borne arboviruses of Europe
- 5 Mosquito-borne diseases of Europe – malaria
- 6 Mosquito-borne filarial infections
- 7 Sandfly-borne diseases
- 8 Ceratopogonidae -- biting midge-borne diseases
- 9 Dipteran-caused infections – myiasis
- 10 The flea-borne diseases
- 11 The louse-borne diseases
- 12 Tick-borne diseases of Europe
- 13 Mite-borne infections and infestations
- 14 Cockroaches and allergies
- 15 Vector-borne disease problems associated with introduced vectors in Europe
- 16 Factors augmenting the incidence, prevalence and distribution of vector-borne diseases in Europe
- 17 The potential effect of climate change on vector-borne diseases in Europe
- 18 The rodent-borne diseases of Europe
- 19 The economic impact and burden of vector- and rodent-borne diseases in Europe
- Part II The vector- and rodent-borne diseases of North America
- References
- Index
Summary
West Nile virus
West Nile virus (WNV), a member of the Japanese encephalitis complex, is a neurotropic flavivirus virus that produces damage of varying severity in human, animal and avian hosts. The virus is amplified in birds and transmitted to humans usually by Culex mosquitoes. Most cases of WNV are subclinical, with overt clinical illness affecting 1:100 to 1:150 cases. Meningoencephalitis is the most common diagnosis in hospitalized WNV patients, affecting 50–84%. In the elderly the mortality rate may range as high as 10% though it is much lower in the current outbreak in the USA. The epidemiological cycle of WNV is shown in Figure 4.1.
West Nile virus was first isolated from a febrile woman in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937 (Smithburn et al., 1940); in 1950 it was found that the virus was present in a large percentage of normal individuals in the vicinity of Cairo, Egypt. The majority of the children from whom the sera were collected appeared to be normal; there was no evidence that children with viremia were severely ill. In 1950 more than 70% of the Cairo inhabitants aged 4 years and over had antibodies to WNV (Melnick et al. 1950).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Vector- and Rodent-Borne Diseases in Europe and North AmericaDistribution, Public Health Burden, and Control, pp. 10 - 32Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006