They discovered the new virus and named it West Nile virus since it was first isolated from a 37 year old woman from Omogo, West Nile district, Northern Province of Uganda. The woman displaying febrile illness.
Since its discovery, West Nile virus has been recognized as the causative agent of infrequent disease outbreaks in humans.
The ecology was characterized in Egypt in the 1950s. The virus became reconsider as a cause of severe human meningoencephalitis in elderly patients during an outbreak in Israel in 1957.
The first report of antibodies against West Nile virus in humans came from Bombay in 1952. In 1980 and 1981, West Nile virus was isolated from three children in the Karnataka state, all of whom suffered fatal encephalitis.
The largest known human epidemic before the US outbreaks in 2002 and 2003 occurred in 1974 in Cape Province, South Africa. The 1974 outbreak had approximately 3000 human cases.
In 1999, the virus appeared in North America for the first time, and the following year the virus was reported in 12 states along the East coast.
The outbreaks in 2003 was the largest in history when more than 10000 people in North America developed symptoms after being infected with West Nile virus.
The source of the initial introduction is unknown. Genetic studies point to origins in the Mediterranean or Middle East.
West Nile Virus
