West Nile virus circulation in south-eastern Romania, 2011 to 2013

Lineage 2 West Nile virus (WNV), previously found only in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, was identified in Hungary in 2004 and has rapidly expanded in Europe in the past decade. Following a significant outbreak of West Nile fever with neurological cases caused by lineage 1 WNV in Romania in 1996, scattered cases have been recorded in the south-east of the country in each transmission season. Another outbreak, affecting a larger area and caused by lineage 2 WNV, was recorded in 2010. We analysed human sera from neuroinvasive West Nile fever cases and mosquitoes, sampled in south-eastern Romania between 2011 and 2013, for the presence of WNV genome, and obtained partial NS5 and envelope glycoprotein sequences. Human- and mosquito-derived WNV sequences were highly similar (99%) to Volgograd 2007 lineage 2 WNV and differed from isolates previously detected in central and southern Europe. WNV was detected in one pool of Culex pipiens s.l. males, documenting vertical transmission. Lineage 4 WNV, of unknown pathogenicity to mammals, was found in the amphibian-feeding mosquito Uranotaenia unguiculata from the Danube Delta. Our results present molecular evidence for the maintenance of the same isolates of Volgograd 2007-like lineage 2 WNV in south-eastern Romania between 2011 and 2013.

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Epidemiology and ecology of West Nile virus in sub-Saharan Africa

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-018-2998-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Waidi F. Sule ◽

Daniel O. Oluwayelu ◽

Luis M. Hernández-Triana ◽

Anthony R. Fooks ◽

Marietjie Venter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

West Nile ◽

Sub Saharan

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Peculiarities of Epidemiological Situation on the West Nile Fever in the Russian Federation in 2020 and Forecast for Its Development in 2021

Problems of Particularly Dangerous Infections ◽

10.21055/0370-1069-2021-1-63-72 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 63-72

Author(s):

E. V. Putintseva ◽

S. K. Udovichenko ◽

N. V. Boroday ◽

D. N. Nikitin ◽

A. А. Baturin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Russian Federation ◽

Healthy Population ◽

West Nile Fever ◽

Molecular Genetic Study ◽

The West ◽

West Nile ◽

Federal Districts ◽

Lineage 2 ◽

The Russian Federation

The paper presents an analysis of West Nile Fever incidence in the Russian Federation in 2020, summarizes the results and identifies problematic issues of the pathogen monitoring. Manifestations of West Nile Fever in 2020 were characterized by a low incidence rate (10 times lower than the average long-term value) with sporadic cases registration in the endemic areas of the Southern (9 cases) and Central (1 case) Federal Districts. A discrepancy between the morbidity structure (distribution by age, sex, social status) and the trends that have developed in Russia in recent years is shown. The analysis of officially recorded cases doesn’t characterize the epidemic process of West Nile fever in Russia during 2020-season as a whole. The generalized results of monitoring of the West Nile virus circulation in environmental objects in 2020 indicate a decrease in the effectiveness of its implementation and a low detectability of pathogen markers. A decrease in the volume of diagnostic studies for the active detection of patients with West Nile fever in the epidemic season (5.7 times lower compared to 2019), as well as serological screening of healthy population samples (1.6 times) has been established. The results of a molecular-genetic study of the pathogen showed that lineage 2 of the pathogen was circulating in the European part of Russia. The circulation of the lineage 4 of the virus in the enzootic cycle in the Republic of Kalmykia was found out. The genome sequences of 11 West Nile virus isolates allocated in 2019 and 2020 were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all isolates allocated in the Volgograd Region and isolates from the Rostov and Astrakhan regions belong to the Volgograd clade of the lineage 2 of the West Nile virus. Based on the assessment of abiotic and biotic factors, possible local increases in the incidence of West Nile fever in 2021 in the regions of the Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts and in the south of Western Siberia have been substantiated.

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West Nile Virus in Horses, sub-Saharan Africa

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

10.3201/eid1212.060042 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 1958-1960 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Olivier Cabre ◽

Marc Grandada ◽

Jean-Lou Marie ◽

Patrick Gravier ◽

Aurelie Prange ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

West Nile ◽

Sub Saharan

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Autochthonous West Nile virus infection outbreak in humans, Leipzig, Germany, August to September 2020

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.46.2001786 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (46) ◽

Author(s):

Corinna Pietsch ◽

Dominik Michalski ◽

Johannes Münch ◽

Sirak Petros ◽

Sandra Bergs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Close Relationships ◽

West Nile Virus Infection ◽

Virus Infections ◽

West Nile Fever ◽

West Nile ◽

Neuroinvasive Disease ◽

Summer Heat ◽

Lineage 2 ◽

Seasonal Circulation

Following a distinct summer heat wave, nine autochthonous cases of West Nile fever and West Nile neuroinvasive disease, including one fatality, were observed in Leipzig, Germany, in August and September 2020. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated close relationships in viruses from humans, animals and mosquitos in eastern Germany, obtained during the preceding 2 years. The described large cluster of autochthonous West Nile virus infections in Germany indicates endemic seasonal circulation of lineage 2 viruses in the area.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Equine encephalomyelitis outbreak caused by a genetic lineage 2 West Nile virus in Hungary.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.10115956.10883054 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Lyle Petersen

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Genetic Lineage ◽

West Nile ◽

Lineage 2

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A REVISED GENERIC SYNOPSIS OF HYACINTHACEAE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, BASED ON MOLECULAR EVIDENCE, INCLUDING NEW COMBINATIONS AND THE NEW TRIBE PSEUDOPROSPEREAE

Edinburgh Journal of Botany ◽

10.1017/s0960428603000404 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 533-568 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

J. C. MANNING ◽

P. GOLDBLATT ◽

M. F. FAY

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Molecular Evidence ◽

New Combinations ◽

Generic Level ◽

The Family ◽

Molecular Phylogenetic ◽

Single Genus ◽

New Tribe ◽

Sub Saharan

A revised generic synopsis of sub-Saharan Hyacinthaceae is presented, based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family. Generic rank is accorded only to reciprocally monophyletic clades that can be distinguished by recognizable morphological discontinuities, thereby permitting an appropriate generic assignment of species not included in the analysis. Three subfamilies are recognized within the region. Subfamily Ornithogaloideae, characterized by flattened or angular seeds with tightly adhering testa, is considered to include the single genus Ornithogalum, which is expanded to include the genera Albuca, Dipcadi, Galtonia, Neopatersonia and Pseudogaltonia. Recognizing any of these segregates at generic level renders the genus Ornithogalum polyphyletic, while subdivision of Ornithogalum into smaller, morphologically distinguishable segregates in order to preserve the monophyly of each is not possible. Subfamily Urgineoideae, characterized by flattened or winged seeds with brittle, loosely adhering testa, comprises the two mainland African genera Bowiea and Drimia. The latter is well circumscribed by its deciduous, short-lived perianth and includes the previously recognized genera Litanthus, Rhadamanthus, Schizobasis and Tenicroa. The monotypic Madagascan Igidia is provisionally included in the subfamily as a third genus on the basis of its seeds, pending molecular confirmation of its relationships. Subfamily Hyacinthoideae resolves into three clades, distinguished as tribes Hyacintheae (strictly northern hemisphere and not treated further), Massonieae and Pseudoprospereae tribus nov. Full descriptions and a key to their identification are provided for all genera. New combinations reflecting the generic circumscriptions adopted here are made for most African and all Indian and Madagascan species.

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Contrasted Epidemiological Patterns of West Nile Virus Lineages 1 and 2 Infections in France from 2015 to 2019

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens9110908 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 908 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cécile Beck ◽

Isabelle Leparc Goffart ◽

Florian Franke ◽

Gaelle Gonzalez ◽

Marine Dumarest ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

West Nile Virus ◽

Invasive Disease ◽

Northern Italy ◽

Breaking Point ◽

Organ Donors ◽

West Nile ◽

Organ Donations ◽

History Of ◽

Lineage 2

Since 2015, annual West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks of varying intensities have been reported in France. Recent intensification of enzootic WNV circulation was observed in the South of France with most horse cases detected in 2015 (n = 49), 2018 (n = 13), and 2019 (n = 13). A WNV lineage 1 strain was isolated from a horse suffering from West Nile neuro-invasive disease (WNND) during the 2015 episode in the Camargue area. A breaking point in WNV epidemiology was achieved in 2018, when WNV lineage 2 emerged in Southeastern areas. This virus most probably originated from WNV spread from Northern Italy and caused WNND in humans and the death of diurnal raptors. WNV lineage 2 emergence was associated with the most important human WNV epidemics identified so far in France (n = 26, including seven WNND cases and two infections in blood and organ donors). Two other major findings were the detection of WNV in areas with no or limited history of WNV circulation (Alpes-Maritimes in 2018, Corsica in 2018–2019, and Var in 2019) and distinct spatial distribution of human and horse WNV cases. These new data reinforce the necessity to enhance French WNV surveillance to better anticipate future WNV epidemics and epizootics and to improve the safety of blood and organ donations.

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