West Nile Virus Surveillance and Control Guidelines

Table of Contents

  1. ›About These Guidelines
  2. Epidemiology and Ecology
  3. Human Disease
  4. Objectives of Surveillance
  5. Human Surveillance
  6. Environmental Surveillance
  7. ArboNET
  8. Human Laboratory Diagnosis and Testing
  9. Non-human Laboratory Diagnosis
  10. Prevention and Control: Integrated Vector Management
  11. Prevention and Control: Community Engagement
  12. Appendix 1: Calculation and Application of a Vector Index (VI) Reflecting the Number of West Nile Virus Infected Mosquitoes in a Population
  13. Appendix 2: Interim Guidance for States Conducting Avian Mortality Surveillance for West Nile Virus (WNV) or Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus
Related Pages
About These Guidelines

In the more than 20 years since West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in New York City, knowledge about WNV epidemiology and transmission ecology has greatly expanded. The objective of this guidance is to consolidate this information and describe how this information can be used to better monitor WNV and mitigate its public health impact. These guidelines are meant for state and local public health officials and mosquito control personnel to aid them in the surveillance and control of WNV.

The fourth version of this guidance was produced in 2013 through a comprehensive review of the published literature related to WNV epidemiology, diagnostics, transmission ecology, environmental surveillance, and vector control. Publications were reviewed for relevance to developing operational surveillance and control programs and selected for inclusion in a draft document by a technical development group of CDC subject matter experts. Numerous stakeholder groups were requested to review the guidance. Comments and additional material provided by National Association of Vector-Borne Disease Control Officials (NAVCO), National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), and American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) were incorporated to produce this guidance. We view the recommendations contained in these guidelines as the best that can be derived from the currently available information and will provide updates as new information about WNV epidemiology, ecology, or intervention becomes available. This current version of the guidance has been modified slightly to have them available in an online, electronic format. In general, there are very few changes to the previous guidance though updated epidemiology and references are included.