Species Found Positive for West Nile Virus as of 15 October 2003

This is a compendium of species found positive for having been exposed to the West Nile virus.  This list

• does NOT indicate that West Nile is necessarily fatal to the species listed but simply that at least one was brought dead to a state health department and tested. That organism may have died from other causes.
• Some species on the list were also caught live and found to carry antibody (marked with ^L). 
• Please also note that viral competency cannot be inferred merely by being on this list.

This list is derived from several sources, most heavily from those of the USGS National Wildlife Health Centers and ProMed lists.  Species listed with an asterisk (*) were of initial individuals in captivity and may or may not be from the New World.  Errors or updates can be reported to Lisa Reed at lreed@rci.rutgers.edu 

See the distribution based on USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service's map (Acrobat Reader required).  See also the West Nile maps of Nationalatlas.gov (archived to 2000) or the current maps at USGS.

States/Provinces where positive animals (mosquitoes, birds, and/or mammals) have been found:

(See the map at CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm)

Primary Sources include:

• ProMed Ahead (http://www.promedemail.org/) 

• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service WN Stats

• USGS West Nile and  North American Bird Species Positive for WNV 

• CDC: Migratory Birds and Spread of West Nile Virus in the Western Hemisphere http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no4/rappole.htm  John H. Rappole,* Scott R. Derrickson,* and Zdenek Hubálek† *Cons. and Research Center, Nat'l Zoo. Park, Smithsonian Inst., Front Royal, VA, USA; and †Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, Valtice, Czech Republic