Seroprevalence of West Nile Virus and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Southeastern Turkey: First Evidence for Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Infections

SUMMARYThis study describes the first large-scale serosurvey on West Nile virus (WNV) conducted in the equine population in Pakistan. Sera were collected from 449 equids from two provinces of Pakistan during 2012–2013. Equine serum samples were screened using a commercial ELISA kit detecting antibodies against WNV and related flaviviruses. ELISA-positive samples were further investigated using virus-specific microneutralization tests (MNTs) to identify infections with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), WNV and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Anti-WNV antibodies were detected in 292 samples by ELISA (seroprevalence 65·0%) and WNV infections were confirmed in 249 animals by MNT. However, there was no animal found infected by JEV or TBEV. The detection of WNV-seropositive equines in Pakistan strongly suggests a widespread circulation of WNV in Pakistan.

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Acute West Nile virus neuroinvasive infections: Cross-reactivity with dengue virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus

Journal of Medical Virology ◽

10.1002/jmv.22180 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 83 (10) ◽

pp. 1861-1865 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Anna Papa ◽

Dimitra Karabaxoglou ◽

Athina Kansouzidou

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Encephalitis Virus ◽

West Nile ◽

Tick Borne Encephalitis ◽

Tick Borne Encephalitis Virus

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West Nile Virus and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Are Endemic in Equids in Eastern Austria

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13091873 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 1873

Author(s):

Phebe de Heus ◽

Jolanta Kolodziejek ◽

Zdenĕk Hubálek ◽

Katharina Dimmel ◽

Victoria Racher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Animal Health ◽

Encephalitis Virus ◽

Serum Samples ◽

West Nile ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tick Borne Encephalitis ◽

Eastern Austria ◽

Tick Borne Encephalitis Virus

The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) in addition to the autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in Europe causes rising concern for public and animal health. The first equine case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Austria was diagnosed in 2016. As a consequence, a cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted in 2017, including 348 equids from eastern Austria. Serum samples reactive by ELISA for either flavivirus immunoglobulin G or M were further analyzed with the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT-80) to identify the specific etiologic agent. Neutralizing antibody prevalences excluding vaccinated equids were found to be 5.3% for WNV, 15.5% for TBEV, 0% for USUV, and 1.2% for WNV from autochthonous origin. Additionally, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect WNV nucleic acid in horse sera and was found to be negative in all cases. Risk factor analysis did not identify any factors significantly associated with seropositivity.

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