West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases — United States, 2018 Emily McDonald, MD; Stacey W. Martin, MSc; Kimberly Landry, MPH; et al.

West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases — United States, 2018 | MMWR

West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases — United States, 2018 Emily McDonald, MD; Stacey W. Martin, MSc; Kimberly Landry, MPH; et al.

MMWR Weekly (No. 31)
PDF of Weekly issue

West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases — United States, 2018

Weekly / August 9, 2019 / 68(31);673–678

Emily McDonald, MD1,2; Stacey W. Martin, MSc1; Kimberly Landry, MPH1; Carolyn V. Gould, MD1; Jennifer Lehman1; Marc Fischer, MD1; Nicole P. Lindsey, MS1 (View author affiliations)

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Summary

What is already known about this topic?

West Nile virus (WNV) is consistently the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease, but other arboviruses cause sporadic cases and outbreaks of neuroinvasive disease.

What is added by this report?

WNV neuroinvasive disease incidence was nearly 25% higher in 2018 than the median incidence during 2008–2017. WNV transmission via organ transplantation was reported for the first time since 2013. The first documented case of Powassan virus transmission via blood transfusion was reported.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Health care providers should consider arboviral infections in patients with aseptic meningitis or encephalitis, perform appropriate diagnostic testing, and report cases to public health authorities. Surveillance helps to identify outbreaks and guide prevention strategies.