West Nile encephalitis in Israel, 1999: the New York connection.

West Nile (WN) virus, the causative agent of WN feverand encephalitis, has a wide distribution in Africa, West Asia,and the Middle East, and outbreaks have been reported fromEurope, South Africa, and Israel. Wild and domestic birds arethe principal amplifying hosts of WN virus, and ornithophilicmosquitoes of the