西尼罗热是一种人畜共患病,是由携带西尼罗病毒(west nile virus,WNV)的蚊虫叮咬人畜而引起发病的。人感染 WNV 后大多数表现为隐性感染。发病者常常出现发烧、头痛、皮疹、淋巴结肿大等症状,严重时表现为无菌性脑膜炎,甚至死亡。据报道,2002年全年,美国共报告了3 605例WNV 导致的人类西尼罗热病例,其中212例死亡。这是1999年美国纽约地区大爆发之后,连续四年在美国流行,并大有蔓延之势。1999年夏天,科学 West Nile fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bite of mosquitoes carrying west nile virus (WNV). Most people infected with WNV showed latent infection. Patients often have fever, headache, rash, swollen lymph nodes and other symptoms, severe cases of aseptic meningitis, and even death. It is reported that in the year 2002, the United States reported a total of 3 605 WNV-induced human cases of West Nile fever, of which 212 were fatal. This was the fourth consecutive year in the United States after 1999 when the United States of America broke out in the United States and its situation has greatly expanded. Summer of 1999, science