Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15986939›Full record

ReviewCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2005

West Nile virus. Primer for family physicians.

Russell D MacDonald, Valerie F Krym

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact, top 77% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Efficient Detection of West Nile Virus in Urine Specimens by a Novel In-House RT-qPCR Detection Kit.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2025
    Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Russell D MacDonaldResearch Program, Ontario Air Ambulance, Toronto. rmacdonald@basehospital.on.ca
Valerie F Krym

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo provide primary care physicians with an understanding of West Nile virus in North America. This article focuses on epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, and prevention of infection. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: MEDLINE and EMBASE searches revealed epidemiologic, surveillance, cohort, and outcome studies providing level II evidence. There were no randomized controlled trials of treatment. Recommended prevention and treatment strategies are based on level II and III evidence. MAIN MESSAGE: The mosquito-borne virus that first appeared on this continent in 1999 is now prevalent throughout North America. Most infections are asymptomatic. Fewer than 1% of those infected develop severe illness; 3% to 15% of those with severe illness die. While methods for controlling the mosquito population are available, we lack evidence that they reduce infection in the general human population. Family physicians have an important role in advising their patients on ways to prevent infection and in identifying patients who might be infected with West Nile virus.

conclusionThe general population is at low risk of West Nile virus infection. Prevention of infection rests on controlling the mosquito population and educating people on how to protect themselves against mosquito bites.

Indexed as

Family PracticeHumansWest Nile Fever

Identifiers

PMID15986939
PMCPMC1479528
OpenAlexW2137700567

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.