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. 2001 Jul-Aug;7(4):736–738. doi: 10.3201/eid0704.010424

Exposure of domestic mammals to West Nile virus during an outbreak of human encephalitis, New York City, 1999.

N Komar 1, N A Panella 1, E Boyce 1
PMCID: PMC2631764  PMID: 11585540

Abstract

We evaluated West Nile (WN) virus seroprevalence in healthy horses, dogs, and cats in New York City after an outbreak of human WN virus encephalitis in 1999. Two (3%) of 73 horses, 10 (5%) of 189 dogs, and none of 12 cats tested positive for WN virus-neutralizing antibodies. Domestic mammals should be evaluated as sentinels for local WN virus activity and predictors of the infection in humans.

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Selected References

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