Emerging infectious diseases · 2001 · 75 citations · 16 references
Veterinary MedicineInfectious DiseasesVeterinary EpidemiologyEquine MedicineNeuroinfectious DiseasesZoonotic Disease EpidemiologyAnimal Infectious DiseasesAnimal VirusesViral EpidemiologyViral ZoonosesWest Nile Virus InfectionZoonotic VirusesEquine VirusesViral SeroprevalenceWest Nile Virus DiseaseWest Nile Virus EncephalitisWest Nile Virus EpidemiologyZoonotic Animal VirusesZoonotic Viral DiseasesZoonotic Viral Infections
An outbreak of West Nile (WN) viral encephalitis in New York City during the summer of 1999 resulted in numerous human cases and several deaths of elderly patients (1). WN virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, had not previously been recognized in New York City; therefore, the city's public health system had no surveillance guidelines in place before the outbreak. Such guidelines require basic epidemiologic and ecologic data. Entomologic studies (2), avian seroprevalence studies (3), and a human serosurvey (4) have been completed. This report presents seroprevalence data in New York City horses, dogs, and cats and discusses the potential of these animals as sentinels for human infection.
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