Arbovirus Testing
- Also Known As:
- Arthropod-borne Virus Testing
- Arbovirus Serology IgM and IgG Antibodies
- Arbovirus Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests

This page was fact checked by our expert Medical Review Board for accuracy and objectivity. Read more about our editorial policy and review process.
.At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To determine the cause of viral meningitis or encephalitis or illness causing a fever that occurs during the warmer months of the year; to investigate the source of epidemics and track their spread
When To Get Tested?
When you have symptoms suggesting an arbovirus infection, such as fever, headache, stiff neck, muscular weakness and a diagnosis of encephalitis and/or meningitis
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or cerebrospinal fluid collected from a spinal tap
Test Preparation Needed?
None
What is being tested?
Arboviruses (arthropod-borne virus) cause viral infections that are transmitted between humans by mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects, such as ticks. Arbovirus testing detects either antibodies produced by the body’s immune system in response to a specific arbovirus infection or it detects the virus’s genetic material in blood or cerebrospinal fluid.
Found throughout the world, arboviruses are an important cause of viral meningitis and encephalitis. In temperate climates, they tend to cause occasional seasonal epidemics. In tropical climates, they may be found year-round, whenever mosquitoes are active.
These viruses are spread when a mosquito, or sometimes another insect carrier (vector) such as a tick or sandfly, bites an infected bird or other small animal and becomes infected, then bites a human and passes it on. Arbovirus infections are usually not directly passed from person-to-person. Sometimes, an infection may be transmitted through a blood transfusion, organ transplant, sexual contact, from a pregnant woman to her baby, or from a mother to child through breast milk.
Arbovirus testing is used along with a person’s signs, symptoms, and history of exposure and travel to detect and confirm an acute arbovirus infection and to distinguish between an infection and other conditions that may cause similar symptoms.
Depending on the virus causing the infection, people infected by an arbovirus may have only mild to moderate flu-like symptoms that resolve within a few days to a few weeks. In some cases, a sudden onset of high fever may be accompanied by a rash (dengue fever), jaundice (yellow fever), or severe joint pain and debilitating symptoms. Depending on the virus, a person may develop severe symptoms that may be life-threatening and require hospitalization.
There are hundreds of different arboviruses, but most are not common. Examples of arboviruses include:
Virus/Illness | Insect Carrier | Found In: |
Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) | Mosquito | Eastern U.S. |
Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE) | Mosquito | Western U.S. |
Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) | Mosquito | South and Central America, rarely U.S. |
Chikungunya Fever (CHIKV) | Mosquito | Africa, Asia, some in Southern Europe and the Caribbean |
Ross River Virus | Mosquito | Australia |
Yellow Fever | Mosquito | South America, Africa, rare epidemics in U.S. |
Dengue Fever | Mosquito | South America, Asia, tropical tourist destinations, Caribbean |
Zika Virus | Mosquito | Primarily in Caribbean, South America, Africa, Asia |
Japanese Encephalitis | Mosquito | Asia |
West Nile Virus | Mosquito | Throughout U.S. |
St. Louis Encephalitis | Mosquito | Eastern and Central U.S. |
Powassan Encephalitis | Tick | Eastern U.S. |
LaCrosse Virus | Mosquito | South America, Central America, Asia, Central and Eastern U.S. |
Rift Valley Fever | Mosquito, Tick, Sandfly | Africa and Middle East |
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever | Tick | Asia, Africa, Europe |
Colorado Tick Fever | Tick | Europe, U.S. |
Common Questions
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
(January 2016) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas with Zika. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html. Accessed July 2, 2016.
(January 2016) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dengue. Available online at https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/. Accessed July 2, 2016.
(2012) Medscape. West Nile Virus and other Arboviral Diseases. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807540. Accessed July 2, 2016.
(July 2012) Texas Department of State Health Services. Fact Sheet – Arboviral Encephalitides. Available online at http://www.dshs.texas.gov/idcu/disease/arboviral/arboviral_encephalitides/factsheets/factSheet/. Accessed July 2, 2016.
(December 2015) Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Arborviral Diseases – Laboratory Guidance. Available online at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/arboviral/labguide.htm. Accessed July 2, 2016.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
(Updated 2010 August 16). Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Arboviral Diagnostic Testing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/EasternEquineEncephalitis/tech/diagnosis.html. Accessed February 2012.
Delgado, J. and Hillyard, D. (Updated 2012 January). Arboviruses. ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/Arboviruses.html. Accessed February 2012.
(Modified 2011 October 31). Virology / Serology – Arbovirus. NC Division of Public Health, State Laboratory of Public Health [On-line information]. Available online at http://slph.ncpublichealth.com/virology-serology/arbovirus.asp. Accessed February 2012.
(Updated 2011 July 6). Arbovirus. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Laboratory Services [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.wvdhhr.org/labservices/labs/virology/arbovirus.cfm. Accessed February 2012.
Hunt, M. (Modified 2010 April 9). Virology – Chapter Twenty One Arboviruses. Microbiology and Immunology On-line from University of South Carolina School of Medicine [On-line information]. Available online at http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mhunt/arbo.htm. Accessed February 2012.
(© 1995–2012). Test ID: ARBOP83267 Arbovirus Antibody Panel, IgG and IgM, Serum. Mayo Clinic Mayo Medical Laboratories. [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Overview/83267. Accessed February 2012.
Kaye, K. (Revised 2009 December). Overview of Arbovirus, Arenavirus, and Filovirus Infections. Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals [On-line information]. Available online through http://www.merckmanuals.com. Accessed February 2012.
Jaffar-Bandjee, M. et. al. (© 2010). Emergence and Clinical Insights into the Pathology of Chikungunya Virus Infection. Medscape Today from Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. V 8(9):987-996 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/733879. Accessed February 2012.
Busowski, M. et. al. (Updated 2011 September 15). Yellow Fever. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/232244-overview. Accessed February 2012.
Anderson, W. et. al. (Updated 2011 June 17). California Encephalitis Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/234159-overview. Accessed February 2012.
Viroj Wiwanitkit, V. (2012 January 29). The Importance of Accurate Diagnosis of Dengue Fever. Medscape Today from Future Virology. 2012;7(1):53-62. [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/756315. Accessed February 2012.
Wiwanitkit, V. (2010 August 18). Dengue Fever: Diagnosis and Treatment. Medscape Today from Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. v 8(7):841-845. [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/725639. Accessed February 2012.
Powers, A. (2009 September 17). Overview of Emerging Arboviruses. Medscape Today from Future Virology. V 4(4):391-401 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/708398. Accessed February 2012.
Barnard, R. et. al. (2011 June 15). Expecting the Unexpected. Medscape Today News from Expert Rev Mol Diagn. V 11(4):409-423 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742370. Accessed February 2012.
Tomashek, K. (Updated 2011 July 1). Dengue Fever & Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. CDC Travelers’ Health, Chapter 3 Infectious Diseases Related To Travel [On-line information]. Available online at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/dengue-fever-and-dengue-hemorrhagic-fever.htm. Accessed February 2012.
Ask a Laboratory Scientist
