8. Conclusions

Is it more effective to control West Nile virus by reducing birds or by reducing mosquitoes? By constructing and analyzing a model of West Nile virus, we were able to answer our original question. We hope that results from this model will be useful in designing strategies to control West Nile virus in specific locations. However, we expect that the model’s parameter values will differ from place to place. Therefore, before the model can be applied to a given locale, biological research must be done to determine accurate parameter values for that place. In future work, we would like to build a series of different models for West Nile virus to determine which of our assumptions and restrictions make the model generate less or more accurate predictions.