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West Nile virus is an emerging infectious disease that made its first appearance in the United States in 1999. The microbe that causes the infection belongs to a group of disease-causing viruses known as flaviviruses, which are usually spread by ticks or mosquitoes. People who contract West Nile virus usually experience only mild symptoms-fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands. If West Nile virus enters the brain, however, it can cause life-threatening encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord). Most cases of disease occur in elderly people and those with impaired immune systems. The first step in the transmission cycle of West Nile virus occurs when a mosquito bites an infected bird or other infected animal. Although the virus primarily cycles between mosquitoes and birds, infected female mosquitoes also can transmit West Nile virus through their bites to humans and other "incidental h