The best way to avoid the infected mosquitoes in your personal environment is to eliminate breeding sources for mosquitoes. Remove areas of standing, stagnate water where mosquitoes breed. Use non-toxic mosquito deterrents (such as Mosquito dunks and Mosquito spray) in birdbaths, ponds, and water gardens, and use insect repellents on exposed skin when enjoying the outdoors during times of the day when mosquitoes are most active.

Q. How do people get West Nile encephalitis?
A. People become infected by the bite of a mosquito infected with West Nile Virus.

Q. Can you get West Nile encephalitis from another person, bird, or animal?
A. No. West Nile encephalitis is NOT transmitted from person-to-person, animal-to-person, or bird-to-person. For example, you cannot get West Nile virus from touching or kissing a person who has the disease, or from a health care worker who has treated someone with the disease.

Q. Can you get West Nile virus directly from birds?
A. No. There is no evidence that a person can get the virus from handling live or dead infected birds or animals. However, persons should avoid barehanded contact when handling ANY dead animals, and use gloves or double plastic bags to place the carcass in a garbage can.

Q. If I live in an area where animals or mosquitoes with West Nile virus have been reported and a mosquito bites me, am I likely to get sick?
A. No. Even in areas where the virus is circulating, very few mosquitoes are infected with the virus. Even if the mosquito is infected, less than 1% of people who get bitten and become infected will get severely ill. The chances you will become severely ill from any one mosquito bite are extremely small.

Q. What is the basic transmission cycle?
A. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected animals or birds, which may circulate the virus in their blood for a few days. Infected mosquitoes can then transmit West Nile virus to humans and animals while biting to take blood. The virus is located in the mosquito's salivary glands. During blood feeding, the virus may be injected into the animal or human, where it may multiply, possibly causing illness.

Q. Where did West Nile virus come from?
A. West Nile virus has been commonly found in humans, birds, and other vertebrates in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia and the Middle East, but until 1999 had not previously been documented in the Western Hemisphere. It is not known from where the U.S. virus originated, but it is most closely related genetically to strains found in the Middle East. It is closely related to St. Louis encephalitis virus found in the United States.

[ For more information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/ or call toll free (800) 311-3435 ]