The Global Ecology and Epidemiology of West Nile Virus

Figure 4

WNV transmission cycle: enzootic amplification of WNV by birds and mosquitoes supplemented by bird-to-bird transmission and transmission between cofeeding mosquitoes. Vertical transmission by mosquitoes provides the mechanism of virus overwintering. Humans and horses are counted as incidental dead-end hosts. Human-to-human transmission may come through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and breast feeding and in utero.