Starting in 1999, the West Nile virus (WNV) epidemic represents the largest outbreak of arboviral encephalitis ever recorded in the U.S. The effective means to determine an infection are detection of viral nucleic acid and/or viral specific immunoglobulin, IgM and/or IgG.
Jerome H. Holland Laboratory for the Biomedical Sciences, American Red Cross, 15601 Crabbs Branch Way, Rockville, MD 20855, USA. tangy@usa.redcross.org