This information resource was developed and is maintained by Stephen M. Apatow, Director of Research and Development, Humanitarian University Consortium Graduate Studies Center for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Law. Questions or suggestions regarding the Biodefense Reference Library can be sent to: admin@humanitarian.net

9.14.2002: West Nile Virus - Biodefense and Epidemiological Tracking  Includes comparative maps of spread from 1999-2002 and current (as of 9.11.2002) USGS United States maps for bird, human, mosquito, sentinel and veterinary cases. Map Graphics take time to load. 12.14.99: West Nile Virus May Be New Deadly Strain, USGS Tells Congress: Recent crow die-offs suggest the West Nile virus which emerged in New York in late August could be more deadly to North American bird species than to species in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, where the virus is normally found, a USGS scientist reported today at a congressional field hearing held in Connecticut by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

• Medline: West Nile Virus
• 8.5.2001:  Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, Floods and Encephalitis Outbreaks
• 5.23.2001: Webcast (RealPlayer) Preparing for West Nile Virus: Will Your Community be Next: Public Health Rounds, the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control hosts  the "Preparing for West Nile Virus, Will your Community be Next ?" national live satellite and webcast to increase awareness of West Nile virus and promote a national dialogue among public health leaders and professionals on vector-borne diseases and the strategic response necessary to minimize their impact on human and environmental health. 
• 4.2001:  West Nile Virus: Biopreparedness Through Community & Family Preparedness Resource outlines topics of source reduction for mosquitos and how to reduce risk of infection. Developed in cooperation with the FEMA Community & Family Preparedness Program post discussion and recommendations with contacts at the World Health Organization, USGS, USDA, US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at John Hopkins.
• Cornell: Environmental Risk Analysis Program - West Nile Virus  The site provides news and links to an extensive list of resources and educational materials, including a comprehensive bibliography of scientific literature, resources for the public, a WNV glossary, archives to the WESTNILEVIRUS-L listserv (Archives).
• Promed:  West Nile Virus Surveillance - USA 2000 Final Report  Visit the ProMED West Nile Virus Site
• CDC Surveillance and Control A special West Nile virus surveillance program has been initiated in 48 states and four cities. See the National West Nile Virus Surveillance System, 2000: Final Plan for a full description. Data are being collected on a weekly basis and will be reported for the following five categories:  wild birds, sentinel chicken flocks, human cases, veterinary cases, and mosquito surveillance. Go to this link at the National Atlas of the United States to view weekly maps and tables of data collected:
• CDC Surveillance, Prevention, and Control Guidelines. 2001. [294Kb pdf]. 
• USDA-APHIS Guideline: Prevention and Control of West Nile Virus Infection in Equine and Other Livestock or Poultry
• CDC National Center for Infectious Diseases: West Nile Virus
• West Nile Virus Post Mortem: Biodefense Quarterly, December 1999,  Volume 1, Number 3 Recognizing current strengths and weaknesses in our ability to detect and respond to a potential biological attack

• EPA: Mosquitoes and Pesticides Information on ground and aerial application of pesticides along with non-chemical forms of control to eliminate mosquitoes.
• EPA: Pesticides and Mosquito Control:  EPA reviews and approves pesticides and their labeling to ensure that the pesticides used to protect public health are applied by methods which minimize the risk of human exposure and adverse health and environmental effects.

• Arboviral Encephalitides: National Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases
• CDC: Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases

Equine

According to the AVMA, article on 10.21.99 entitled "Veterinarians key to discovering outbreak of exotic encephalitis":

In late August came the first reports of a human encephalitis outbreak in New York City and nearby Nassau and Westchester counties. The CDC would initially attribute the cause to the mosquito-borne St Louis encephalitis, which has been seen before in the Midwest and Southeast but never New York.

Around that same time, more than 70 miles away in the Riverhead area of Long Island, 22 horses began showing neurologic signs of an encephalitic infection — lethargy, weakness in the hindquarters, and convulsions. Initially, local veterinarians suspected the horse deaths and illnesses were caused by equine protozoal myelitis. Later, on Oct 19, after 13 of the horses had died or were euthanatized, the USDA-APHIS announced they all tested positive for the West Nile virus. Horses are highly susceptible to the virus — a 1996 report from Egypt indicated 40 percent mortality.

• USDA - APHIS: West Nile Virus Information
• USDA's Preparedness for West Nile Virus: An interview with Dr. Randy Crom, USDA-APHIS
• American Horse Council

Public Health Alert:  The New York City Department of Health West Nile Virus Information Includes:  Dead Bird Reporting Form, Standing Water Report Form, Surveillance and Control Plan

MEDSERVE Medical News: Ticks may harbor encephalitis
6.15.2000 

1.21.2000:   CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Vol. 49/No. 2
Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of West Nile Virus Infection

Migration of Birds  - Routes of Migration 

• CDC: Migratory Birds and Spread of West Nile Virus in the Western Hemisphere
• USGS - Principle Routes From North America: North America to South America back to Eastern and Western Regions of the United States

• Origin of the West Nile Virus Responsible for an Outbreak of Encephalitis in the Northeast
• Isolation of West Nile Virus from Mosquitoes, Crows, and a Cooper's Hawk in Connecticut: Fairfield & New Haven Counties - Isolates from Connecticut were similar to one another and most closely related to two WN isolates from Romania. 22 October 1999; accepted 19 November 1999.

• WHO Release: 9.24.96 - Viral Meningitis among Patients Hospitalized in Bucharest. According to the test results, the cause of the outbreak is the West Nile virus.
• CDC: West Nile Fever–a Reemerging Mosquito-Borne Viral Disease in Europe Zdenek Hubálek and Jirí Halouzka Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.

• Mosquito-borne Encephalitis:  A comprehensive collection of resources for biological data and information available on the Web.

• Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report: Search

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