West Nile Virus ... West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito borne viral disease. WNV occurs throughout the United States and can cause disease in humans, birds and ...SkipFirstLevelNavigationSkipAllNavigationMaine.govAgencies|OnlineServices|Help|SearchMaine.govMaineCDCHomeHealthTopicsA-ZData/ReportsForHealthCareProvidersForBusinessesForHomeowners/RentersDivisions/ProgramsDHHS→MeCDC→DiseaseSurveillance→Epidemiology→Vector-borneDiseases→WestNileVirusEPIInformationA-ZIndexofEpidemiologyDiseasesContactUsDiseaseReportingSyndromic-drugoverdosedataOrderableMaterialsMaineTrackingNetwork:TickborneDiseasesPublicationsRequestforDataVectorborneSchoolCurriculaZoonoticDiseaseTraintheTrainerSchoolHealthVideosInformationforLaboratoriesSocialServicesHelpWestNileVirusWestNileVirus(WNV)isamosquitoborneviraldisease.WNVoccursthroughouttheUnitedStatesandcancausediseaseinhumans,birdsandothermammals.ManypersonsinfectedwithWNVwillhavenoobvioussymptoms.Inthosepersonswhododevelopillness,symptomsofWNVinclude:headache,highfever,alteredmentalstate,tremors,convulsionsandrarelyparalysis.WNVcanalsocausemeningitis/encephalitisandcanbefatal.WestNileistransmittedtoapersonthroughthebiteofaninfectedmosquito.ThereisnospecifictreatmentforWestNilevirus.Thisdiseaseisbestpreventedbyavoidingexposuretomosquitoes.DuetotherecentpositiveWestNileviruspoolsdetectedinthestatetherehasbeenalotofdiscussionaboutdeadbirds. From2001-2006asWestNilewasemergingintheUnitedStates,MainealongwithmanyotherstatestesteddeadbirdsforthepresenceofWestNilevirus(WNV)andEasternEquineEncephalitis(EEE)virus. WNVandEEEwerefirstidentifiedinbirdsinMainein2001. After2006,MaineCDCdeterminedthattheviruswaspresentinthestate,anddecidedtodiscontinuedeadbirdtesting. Insteadweshiftedtowardslookingforactivevirusinmosquitoes,largeanimals,andhumans. WhilethebirdtestingwasusefultodocumentthemovementofWestNilevirusintoMaine,wecannotalwaystellfromthedeadbirdsiftheyareactivelyinfectedorpreviouslyexposed. Alsobecausebirdstravel,wecannottellwherethebirdacquiredth