The association between land cover and West Nile Virus avian infections within three ecologically distinct urbanized regions of Orange County, California

Abstract

West Nile Virus is an emerging infectious disease in the Western Hemisphere. Since it was first identified in New York in 1999, the virus has infected thousands of people and millions of birds. A multitude of studies pertaining to West Nile Virus have been published, but its epidemiology is still not fully understood despite its considerable burden of disease. This study explores the association between land cover and West Nile Virus prevalence among birds within urban spaces in three steps. One, a land cover survey for three geographically distinct study areas located within Orange County, California is performed using i-Tree Canopy. Two, data attributes belonging to land cover and West Nile Virus bird surveillance, provided by the Orange County Vector Control District (OCVCD), are combined through a spatial join using ArcGIS. Lastly, rate of infection and positive West Nile Virus bird carcass prevalence within each study area and land cover type is ranked and compared using one sample proportion Z-test method.