West Nile Virus (WNV)

West Nile Virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne pathogen is a relatively new disease that has drawn a good deal of attention since it first arrived in New York City in 1999. Since the potentially fatal neurological disease was first found in New York, the disease has rapidly spread to all 48 of the continental United States and Canada. Outbreaks of WNV have even been reported in parts of South America, although the numbers of reported outbreaks are far fewer than what the United States has experienced. Between 1999 and 2015 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 42,000 cases of West Nile Virus and 1700 resulting deaths in the United States (CDC, 2015). Although the spread of West Nile Virus has been rapid in the US, the origin

Since it’s discovery, sporadic outbreaks of WNV were observed in the following decades throughout Africa, the Mediterranean basin and The Middle East. As sporadic outbreaks continued to spread throughout Asia, The Middle East, and Eastern Europe questions about how the disease was transmitted began to arise. In areas where outbreaks occurred, it was discovered that large populations of wild birds had been mysteriously dying and horses had been becoming sick. Mosquitos were eventually determined to be the vector that transmitted WNV to birds, horses and humans, and those who lived among migratory bird routes were suspected to be most at risk of contracting WNV. As the years progressed WNV had continued to spread throughout the world, and areas once thought to be safe from WNV were now experiencing outbreaks of the potentially life threatening disease. Sebastian Ulbert writes in “West Nile Virus: The Complex Biology of an emerging Pathogen”, that “In the last 15 years, records of WNV outbreaks have increased, and up until today the virus has invaded almost all tropical and subtropical regions of the world” (Ulbert, 2011,

The severe effects and complications associated with WNV have encouraged more research to discover a cure and determine why certain populations contract WNV, but sporadic outbreaks have left relatively few concerned with the progression of the disease. Many could potentially be affected by WNV even though physical symptoms only appear in 20% of those who are infected. Because so little is known about WNV and reported cases appear to fluctuate by year with no real reason it is difficult to know how many will contract the disease in subsequent years. In the United States, cases of WNV must be reported to the CDC, but because not every country records cases of WNV and 80% of individuals who are infected with WNV don’t know they have contracted it, determining just how prevalent this disease has become is difficult to