West Nile virus surveillance in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

West Nile virus (WNV) was detected for the first time in Louisiana in the fall of 2001. Surveillance data collected from East Baton Rouge Parish in 2002 were examined to establish baseline data on WNV activity, to support the current design of disease surveillance programs, and to target vector control efforts in the parish. The first indications of WNV activity were from a dead Northern Cardinal collected in February and from a live male cardinal sampled on 14 March.