Jamestown canyon virus disease in the United States-2000-2013

Abstract

Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) is a mosquito-borne orthobunyavirus in the California serogroup that can cause an acute febrile illness, meningitis, or meningoencephalitis. We describe epidemiologic and clinical features for JCV disease cases occurring in the United States during 2000-2013. A case of JCV disease was defined as an acute illness in a person with laboratory evidence of a recent JCV infection. During 2000-2013, we identified 31 cases of JCV disease in residents of 13 states. The median age was 48 years (range, 10-69) and 21 (68%) were male. Eleven (35%) case patients had meningoencephalitis, 6 (19%) meningitis, 7 (23%) fever without neurologic involvement, and 7 (23%) had an unknown clinical syndrome. Fifteen (48%) were hospitalized and there were no deaths. Health-care providers and public health officials should consider JCV disease in the differential diagnoses of viral meningitis and encephalitis, obtain appropriate specimens for testing, and report cases to public health authorities.