Jamestown Canyon encephalitis is a rare infectious disease characterized by acute fever, meningitis, or meningoencephalitis. It is caused by Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), a mosquito-borne orthobunyavirus in the California serogroup in the order Bunyavirales of -ssRNA viruses. JCV was first isolated in 1961 from mosquitoes in Jamestown, Colorado. Since then, the virus has been isolated from various mosquito species. JCV neutralizing antibodies have been found in various mammals throughout mainland North America, and identified in humans.
