Images
(1)-
West Nile virus transmission cycle
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Image
West Nile virus transmission cycle
When a mosquito bites an infected bird, the virus enters the mosquito's bloodstream and eventually moves into the salivary glands. When an infected mosquito bites an animal or a human, the virus is passed into the host's bloodstream, where it may cause serious illness. Birds are the main animal reservoirs for the virus, and the mosquitoes are the transmitters (vectors). Humans and other animals don't pass the virus on to other humans or animals.
Find Mayo Clinic on