I have taken the liberty to copy some statements from different disease agencies and or web sites findings concerning the Pigeon & the West Nile Virus.
To believe and or support the Idea that Pigeons can not be effected by the West Nile disease is simply put “false”.

Susceptible species
West Nile Virus primary affects wild birds (at least 110 species) which are considered to be the reservoir of the disease. Domestic birds, such as chicken, can be infected without developing the disease but ducks and pigeons exhibit clinical signs.
Domestic birds such as chicken do not seem to develop the disease; however ducks and pigeon develop similar signs to those observed in wild birds.
Here’s the link where this information was provided.
http://www.spc.int/rahs/Manual/Multi...ecies/WNFE.htm

The CDC
Here the Rock Dove is mentioned; several breeds of Doves are mentioned.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/west...irdspecies.htm

What about domestic birds?
Birds usually do not show any clinical signs when infected with WNV. Chickens can be infected with WNV and not become sick. However, natural disease due to the virus has been reported in domestic geese, ducks, pigeons and chickens.
Here’s the link for this statement.
http://www.cchealth.org/topics/west_nile/animals.php
The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Wildlife Health
Center and other surveillance agencies have found West Nile in at
least 18 species of wild birds ranging from pigeons and blue jays to a
mallard duck. Continued monitoring will be essential to detecting
risks to both humans and wildlife.
Here’s the link for this statement.
http://www.environmentwriter.org/res...es/natr783.htm

With every surge in human disease, a wave hit wildlife, too (SN: 12/11//99, p. 378: http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc99/12_11_99/bob1.htm). By the end of 2002, the virus had struck a remarkable range of animals, including both dirt-common ones and nearly extinct species. It infected at least 186 wild and captive bird species, including pigeons, house sparrows, chickens, cardinals, mockingbirds, mallards, parakeets, peacocks, macaws, flamingos, bald eagles, and whooping cranes. The virus had also turned up in 17 other vertebrate species, including cats, dogs, chipmunks, striped skunks, bats, and alpacas.
Here’s the link for this statement.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030329/bob10.asp
The symptoms of severe infection include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. It is estimated that 1 in 150 persons infected with this virus will develop a more severe form of disease. (From the C.D.C. website)
The speed of the spread of this disease across country is attributed to wild and domestic birds. They are the most common vertebrae host for the disease thus making it extremely mobile. Crows, blue jays, pigeons, chickens, and hawks are among those carriers of the virus which once bitten and infected, cross state lines and are bitten by a local mosquito which in turn bites a local bird etc. The point is, movement is rapid and quarantine is next to impossible.
Here’s the link for this statement.
http://www.scapest.com/west-nile.html
Other Free-Ranging Bird Species Tested
Positive for West Nile Virus
Dove, Rock (pigeon)
Pheasant, Ring-necked
Sparrow, House Starling, European
Swan, Mute
Here’s the link for this statement.
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww51ev.htm
Could it be all these statements made by different reporting agencies are wrong?
I think not.
Again, to make a statement that the Pigeon is not affected by the West Nile virus is not a safe statement to make, some Pigeons are carriers, and some Pigeons fall silent just as other birds do from this Virus.
Arty/BrokenWing.