West Nile Virus is principally a disease of birds, but other animals and humans can become infected. Horses can contract the disease, and it may become fatal in these animals. In humans. the disease is serious mainly for the elderly, but poople in all age groups can be infected and blecome seriously ill. Human cases  were firs t reported in Michigan in 2002, and at least 35 deaths were confirmed among over 400 hospitalized people,

Mike Kaufman, MSU Entomology Dept., and Ned Walker, MSU Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Entomology Dept.  October 2002 6 pages