scholarly journals The First Study of West Nile Virus in Feral Pigeons (Columba livia domestica) Using Conventional Reverse Transcriptase PCR in Semnan and Khorasane-Razavi Provinces, Northeast of Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Staji ◽  
Morteza Keyvanlou ◽  
Zeinab Geraili ◽  
Hedyeh Shahsavari ◽  
Elnaz Jafari
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Rna Extraction ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Major Threat ◽  
Feral Pigeons ◽  
The World ◽  
Comprehensive Determination ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts

Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is an arboviral infection continuing to be as major threat to human health as well as the livestock industry all around the world. Birds including pigeons are one of the potential reservoirs for WNV. This study aimed to detect the presence of WNV genome in feral pigeons circulating in Semnan and Khorasane-Razavi Provinces (Iran) including 10 urban and 10 suburban areas. Methods: Totally, 150 samples (brain and kidney) were collected equally from feral pigeons and the presence of WNV genome was evaluated in these samples after RNA extraction. Results: All the samples were negative for the presence of WNV-RNA in this investigation. Conclusion: Although obtained result indicated no evidence of WNV genome in feral pigeons but complementary studies regarding serologic detection of WNV in vertebrate hosts as well as pigeons and identification of arthropod vectors seems necessary for comprehensive determination about infection status in these areas.  

scholarly journals Molecular Determinants of West Nile Virus Virulence and Pathogenesis in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Hosts

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 9117
Author(s):  
Lise Fiacre ◽  
Nonito Pagès ◽  
Emmanuel Albina ◽  
Jennifer Richardson ◽  
Sylvie Lecollinet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Yellow Fever Virus ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Molecular Determinants ◽  
The World ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Ultimate Objective ◽  
Economic Considerations

West Nile virus (WNV), like the dengue virus (DENV) and yellow fever virus (YFV), are major arboviruses belonging to the Flavivirus genus. WNV is emerging or endemic in many countries around the world, affecting humans and other vertebrates. Since 1999, it has been considered to be a major public and veterinary health problem, causing diverse pathologies, ranging from a mild febrile state to severe neurological damage and death. WNV is transmitted in a bird–mosquito–bird cycle, and can occasionally infect humans and horses, both highly susceptible to the virus but considered dead-end hosts. Many studies have investigated the molecular determinants of WNV virulence, mainly with the ultimate objective of guiding vaccine development. Several vaccines are used in horses in different parts of the world, but there are no licensed WNV vaccines for humans, suggesting the need for greater understanding of the molecular determinants of virulence and antigenicity in different hosts. Owing to technical and economic considerations, WNV virulence factors have essentially been studied in rodent models, and the results cannot always be transported to mosquito vectors or to avian hosts. In this review, the known molecular determinants of WNV virulence, according to invertebrate (mosquitoes) or vertebrate hosts (mammalian and avian), are presented and discussed. This overview will highlight the differences and similarities found between WNV hosts and models, to provide a foundation for the prediction and anticipation of WNV re-emergence and its risk of global spread.

scholarly journals Epidemiological surveillance of West Nile virus in the world and Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. e164335
Author(s):  
Erica Azevedo Costa ◽  
José Joffre Martins Bayeux ◽  
Aila Solimar Gonçalves Silva ◽  
Guilherme Alves De Queiroz ◽  
Beatriz Senra Álvares da Silva Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Serological Screening ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurovirulent mosquito-borne Flavivirus that is maintained in nature by a zoonotic transmissioncycle between avian hosts and ornithophilic mosquito vectors, mostly from the Culex genus. Until the 1990s, WNV wasconsidered to be an old-world arbovirus, but in 1999, WNV emerged in the United States (US) and spread rapidly, becoming amajor threat to public health. WNV adapted to the transmission cycle involving American mosquitoes and birds and reachedCentral and South America in subsequent years. In 2003, the National West Nile Fever Surveillance System was created in Brazilbased on serological screening of animals and sentinel vectors, as recommended by the Pan American Health Organization(PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2008, serological evidence of WNV infection in Brazilian horseshas been reported, and the circulation of WNV has been monitored through the regular serological screening of sentinel horsesand reporting of encephalomyelitis cases. Horses are highly susceptible to WNV infection, and outbreaks of neurologicaldisease among horses often precede human cases. In this regard, equine surveillance has been essential in providing earlywarning to public and animal health authorities in several countries, including Brazil. This demonstrates the need for animaland public health intervention programs to allocate resources to make veterinarians aware of the role they can play in thehuman surveillance processes by monitoring horses. This review discusses the importance of equine surveillance and the gapthat veterinarians can fill on the front line in human surveillance, in Brazil and worldwide, in the context of “One Health”

scholarly journals Persistence of Antibodies to West Nile Virus in Naturally Infected Rock Pigeons (Columba livia)

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha E. J. Gibbs ◽  
Douglas M. Hoffman ◽  
Lillian M. Stark ◽  
Nicole L. Marlenee ◽  
Bradley J. Blitvich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Neutralization Test ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Maternal Antibodies ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test ◽  
Antibody Persistence

ABSTRACT Wild caught rock pigeons (Columba livia) with antibodies to West Nile virus were monitored for 15 months to determine antibody persistence and compare results of three serologic techniques. Antibodies persisted for the entire study as detected by epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and plaque reduction neutralization test. Maternal antibodies in squabs derived from seropositive birds persisted for an average of 27 days.

scholarly journals Importance of dogs as sentinels of West Nile Virus activity in urban and suburban areas

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. e270
Author(s):  
G. Purpari ◽  
G. Savini ◽  
F. Monaco ◽  
P. Calistri ◽  
A. Di Gennaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Virus Activity

scholarly journals Experimental infection of rock pigeons (Columba livia) with three West Nile virus lineage 1 strains isolated in Italy between 2009 and 2012 – CORRIGENDUM

2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (6) ◽  
pp. 1312-1312
Author(s):  
M. SPEDICATO ◽  
I. CARMINE ◽  
A. L. BELLACICCO ◽  
G. MARRUCHELLA ◽  
V. MARINI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Experimental Infection ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
West Nile

scholarly journals Role of the mutant spectrum in adaptation and replication of West Nile virus

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 865-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander T. Ciota ◽  
Kiet A. Ngo ◽  
Amy O. Lovelace ◽  
Anne F. Payne ◽  
Yangsheng Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Mosquito Cells ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Mutant Spectrum ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Adaptive Constraints

West Nile virus (WNV) has successfully spread throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America since its 1999 introduction into North America. Despite infecting a broad range of both mosquito and avian species, the virus remains highly genetically conserved. This lack of evolutionary change over space and time is common with many arboviruses and is frequently attributed to the adaptive constraints resulting from the virus cycling between vertebrate hosts and invertebrate vectors. WNV, like most RNA viruses studied thus far, has been shown in nature to exist as a highly genetically diverse population of genotypes. Few studies have directly evaluated the role of these mutant spectra in viral fitness and adaptation. Using clonal analysis and reverse genetics experiments, this study evaluated genotype diversity and the importance of consensus change in producing the adaptive phenotype of WNV following sequential mosquito cell passage. The results indicated that increases in the replicative ability of WNV in mosquito cells correlate with increases in the size of the mutant spectrum, and that consensus change is not solely responsible for alterations in viral fitness and adaptation of WNV. These data provide evidence of the importance of quasispecies dynamics in the adaptation of a flavivirus to new and changing environments and hosts, with little evidence of significant genetic change.

scholarly journals Emerging threats to the blood supply: West Nile virus and beyond

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Paul R Young
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Blood Supply ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Surgeon General ◽  
The World

It is now more than 40 years since Sir Macfarlane-Burnet announced to the world that ?one can think of the mid-20th century as marking the virtual elimination of infectious disease as a significant factor in life? (1962). Along similar lines, Jesse Steinfeld, at the beginning of his reign as US Surgeon General, famously said that it was ?time to close the book? on the problem of infectious diseases (1969).

scholarly journals Mosquito excreta reveals circulation of West Nile virus and its underlying ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégory L’Ambert ◽  
Mathieu Gendrot ◽  
Sébastien Briolant ◽  
Agnès Nguyen ◽  
Sylvain Pages ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Entomological Surveillance ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Virus Surveillance ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Asymptomatic Infections

AbstractEmerging and endemic mosquito-borne viruses can be difficult to detect and monitor because they often cause asymptomatic infections in human or vertebrate animals or cause nonspecific febrile illness with a short recovery waiting period. Cases’ detection in vertebrate hosts can be complemented by entomological surveillance, but this method is not adapted to low infection rates in mosquito populations that typically occur in low or non-endemic areas. We identified West Nile Virus circulation in Camargue, a wetland area in South of France, using a cost effective innovative xenomonitoring method based on the molecular detection of virus in excreta from trapped mosquitoes. We also succeeded at identifying the mosquito community diversity dynamic on several sampling sites, together with the vertebrate hosts on which they fed prior to be captured using amplicon-based metagenomic on mosquito excreta without processing any mosquito. Mosquito excreta-based virus surveillance can be considered as a cost-effective and non-invasive strategy that offers the additional asset to reveal the ecological network underlying arbovirus circulation.

scholarly journals Emerging wildlife diseases ? impact on trade, human health and the environment

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Christopher Bunn ◽  
Rupert Woods
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Wildlife Diseases ◽  
West Nile ◽  
The World ◽  
Control Response

Emerging wildlife diseases can occur anywhere in the world and the consequences can be severe. The recent epidemics of SARS, West Nile virus and avian influenza demonstrate the global importance of emerging pathogens and the important role of wildlife in initiating or maintaining such diseases. These recent epidemics and many other diseases have also highlighted the importance of creating new and more effective partnerships between government departments, animal industries and the community. It is important that a country has a system that is able to detect and identify emerging pathogens or diseases, rapidly analyse the situation, and, if necessary, disseminate the information and prompt a control response.

scholarly journals Parameters of Mosquito-Enhanced West Nile Virus Infection

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 292-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey A. Moser ◽  
Pei-Yin Lim ◽  
Linda M. Styer ◽  
Laura D. Kramer ◽  
Kristen A. Bernard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culex Tarsalis ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Virus Inoculation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mosquito Saliva ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Robust System

ABSTRACT The arthropod-borne West Nile virus (WNV) emerged in New York State in 1999 and quickly spread throughout the United States. Transmission is maintained in an enzootic cycle in which infected mosquitoes transmit the virus to susceptible hosts during probing and feeding. Arthropod-derived components within the viral inoculum are increasingly acknowledged to play a role in infection of vertebrate hosts. We previously showed that Culex tarsalis mosquito saliva and salivary gland extract (SGE) enhance the in vivo replication of WNV. Here, we characterized the effective dose, timing, and proximity of saliva and SGE administration necessary for enhancement of WNV viremia using a mouse model. Mosquito saliva and SGE enhanced viremia in a dose-dependent manner, and a single mosquito bite or as little as 0.01 μg of SGE was effective at enhancing viremia, suggesting a potent active salivary factor. Viremia was enhanced when SGE was injected in the same location as virus inoculation from 24 h before virus inoculation through 12 h after virus inoculation. These results were confirmed with mosquito saliva deposited by uninfected mosquitoes. When salivary treatment and virus inoculation were spatially separated, viremia was not enhanced. In summary, the effects of mosquito saliva and SGE were potent, long lasting, and localized, and these studies have implications for virus transmission in nature, where vertebrate hosts are fed upon by both infected and uninfected mosquitoes over time. Furthermore, our model provides a robust system to identify the salivary factor(s) responsible for enhancement of WNV replication. IMPORTANCE Mosquito-borne viruses are a significant class of agents causing emerging infectious diseases. WNV has caused over 18,000 cases of neuroinvasive disease in the United States since its emergence. We have shown that Culex tarsalis mosquito saliva and SGE enhance the replication of WNV. We now demonstrate that saliva and SGE have potent, long-lasting, and localized effects. Our model provides a robust system to identify the salivary factor(s) and characterize the mechanism responsible for enhancement of WNV replication. These studies could lead to the identification of novel prophylactic or treatment options useful in limiting the spread of WNV, other mosquito-borne viruses, and the diseases that they cause.

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