Prevalence of antibodies to West Nile fever, sandfly fever Sicilian, and sandfly fever Naples viruses in healthy adults in Israel

Background: The arbovirus infections West Nile fever (WNF) and sandfly fever (SFF) are both endemic in the Middle East. Despite the fact that the mosquito and sandfly vectors of these viruses are still found in Israel, SFF has not been reported since 1948, whereas outbreaks of WNF occur periodically. It is suspected that some of the cases of nonspecific febrile illnesses in Israel may in fact be either WNF or SFF.