TY - JOUR AU - Vanichanan, Jakapat AU - Salazar, Lucrecia AU - Wootton, Susan AU - Aguilera, Elizabeth AU - Garcia, Melissa AU - Murray, Kristy AU - Hasbun, Rodrigo T1 - Use of Testing for West Nile Virus and Other Arboviruses T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2016 VL - 22 IS - 9 SP - 1587 SN - 1080-6059 AB - In the United States, the most commonly diagnosed arboviral disease is West Nile virus (WNV) infection. Diagnosis is made by detecting WNV IgG or viral genomic sequences in serum or cerebrospinal fluid. To determine frequency of this testing in WNV-endemic areas, we examined the proportion of tests ordered for patients with meningitis and encephalitis at 9 hospitals in Houston, Texas, USA. We identified 751 patients (567 adults, 184 children), among whom 390 (52%) experienced illness onset during WNV season (June–October). WNV testing was ordered for 281 (37%) of the 751; results indicated acute infection for 32 (11%). Characteristics associated with WNV testing were acute focal neurologic deficits; older age; magnetic resonance imaging; empirically prescribed antiviral therapy; worse clinical outcomes: and concomitant testing for mycobacterial, fungal, or other viral infections. Testing for WNV is underutilized, and testing of patients with more severe disease raises the possibility of diagnostic bias in epidemiologic studies. KW - meningitis KW - encephalitis KW - community-acquired CNS infections KW - West Nile virus testing KW - arboviral disease KW - viruses KW - vector-borne infections KW - arboviruses KW - WNV DO - 10.3201/eid2209.152050 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/9/15-2050_article ER - End of Reference