Detection of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses in breeding and sport horses from Spain.
Abstract: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has been detected in Spanish sheep and goat herds, circulating antibodies against TBEV have only been reported in dogs and horses from particular regions in this country. The limited available information about the prevalence of these viruses in Spain led us to investigate the serological evidence of TBE flaviviruses in horses from Spain. Serum neutralization tests (SNT) were performed using sera from 495 breeding and sport horses collected during two periods (2011-2013 and 2015-2016). A seroprevalence of 3.1 % (95 % CI 1.5-4.6) was found and cross-reactivity with West Nile virus was excluded in the positive samples. Sport horses showed a significantly higher TBE serocomplex seropositivity compared to breeding horses. An increased seroprevalence was observed in the second sampling period (2015-2016). Our results demonstrate for the first time the presence of antibodies against TBE flaviviruses in horses residing in mainland Spain; further epidemiological surveys are necessary in order to understand and monitor the active transmission of TBE flaviviruses in this country and rule out the presence of other flaviviruses co-circulating in Spain.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-06-02 PubMed ID: 32723662DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101487Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article details a study conducted to identify the presence of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses in breeding and sport horses in Spain. The study found that despite negligible information on prevalence, there is a measurable presence of such antibodies especially in sport horses, indicating an active transmission of these viruses in Spain.
Understanding Tick-Borne Viruses
- The study focused on two zoonotic flaviviruses that are known to cause neurological diseases – the Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV). Both these viruses belong to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex.
- The transmission of these viruses is primarily through the Ixodes ricinus, a type of tick. The hosts for TBEV are majorly small rodents while for LIV, it’s sheep.
- Notably, these viruses present an emerging threat to public health due to global warming, which is affecting the behavior and pathogen transmission capability of the vector ticks.
Serological Investigation in Spain
- The researchers addressed the limited information about the prevalence of these viruses in Spain by investigating the presence of antibodies against the TBE flaviviruses in horses.
- They tested the serum of 495 horses, including breeding and sport horses, collected over two periods between 2011-2013 and 2015-2016.
- The serum neutralization tests (SNT) found a seroprevalence of 3.1% (95% confidence interval 1.5-4.6) where cross-reactivity with West Nile virus was ruled out.
- Sport horses showed a significantly higher TBE serocomplex seropositivity compared to breeding horses suggesting that they could be more exposed to the tick elements or have a lower immunity to the viruses.
- Interestingly, the seroprevalence had increased in the second period of sampling (2015-2016), indicative of increasing exposure or spread of the viruses.
Conclusion and Further Steps
- This research establishes for the first time the presence of antibodies against TBE flaviviruses in horses in mainland Spain.
- However, the findings indicate a need for more epidemiological surveys to understand the active transmission patterns of TBE flaviviruses and to exclude the presence of other flaviviruses co-circulating in Spain
Cite This Article
APA
Camino E, Schmid S, Weber F, Pozo P, de Juan L, König M, Cruz-Lopez F.
(2020).
Detection of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses in breeding and sport horses from Spain.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis, 11(5), 101487.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101487 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Animal Health Department, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
- Institute of Virology. Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.
- Institute of Virology. Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.
- MAEVA SERVET, S.L., Alameda del Valle, Spain.
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Animal Health Department, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
- Institute of Virology. Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: fatimacr@ucm.es.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / isolation & purification
- Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / diagnosis
- Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / epidemiology
- Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / veterinary
- Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / virology
- Female
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Male
- Prevalence
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Spain / epidemiology
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest in the subject, matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Gothe LMR, Ganzenberg S, Ziegler U, Obiegala A, Lohmann KL, Sieg M, Vahlenkamp TW, Groschup MH, Hörügel U, Pfeffer M. Horses as Sentinels for the Circulation of Flaviviruses in Eastern-Central Germany. Viruses 2023 Apr 30;15(5).
- Trozzi G, Adjadj NR, Vervaeke M, Matthijs S, Sohier C, De Regge N. Comparison of Serological Methods for Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus-Specific Antibody Detection in Wild Boar and Sheep: Impact of the Screening Approach on the Estimated Seroprevalence. Viruses 2023 Feb 6;15(2).
- Cavalleri JV, Korbacska-Kutasi O, Leblond A, Paillot R, Pusterla N, Steinmann E, Tomlinson J. European College of Equine Internal Medicine consensus statement on equine flaviviridae infections in Europe. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Nov;36(6):1858-1871.
- Napp S, Llorente F, Beck C, Jose-Cunilleras E, Soler M, Pailler-García L, Amaral R, Aguilera-Sepúlveda P, Pifarré M, Molina-López R, Obón E, Nicolás O, Lecollinet S, Jiménez-Clavero MÁ, Busquets N. Widespread Circulation of Flaviviruses in Horses and Birds in Northeastern Spain (Catalonia) between 2010 and 2019. Viruses 2021 Nov 30;13(12).
- Fouché N, Oesch S, Ziegler U, Gerber V. Clinical Presentation and Laboratory Diagnostic Work-Up of a Horse with Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Switzerland. Viruses 2021 Jul 28;13(8).
- Vilibic-Cavlek T, Krcmar S, Bogdanic M, Tomljenovic M, Barbic L, Roncevic D, Sabadi D, Vucelja M, Santini M, Hunjak B, Stevanovic V, Boljfetic M, Bjedov L, Masovic V, Potocnik-Hunjadi T, Lakoseljac D, Al-Mufleh M, Savic V. An Overview of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Epidemiology in Endemic Regions of Continental Croatia, 2017-2023. Microorganisms 2024 Feb 13;12(2).
- Bestehorn-Willmann M, Girl P, Greiner F, Mackenstedt U, Dobler G, Lang D. Increased Vaccination Diversity Leads to Higher and Less-Variable Neutralization of TBE Viruses of the European Subtype. Vaccines (Basel) 2023 May 31;11(6).
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