West Nile virus surveillance, Brazil, 2008-2010.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
The research article investigates the presence and spread of West Nile Virus (WNV) in Brazil between 2008-2010. Initial findings confirm the circulation of WNV in Brazil, however, no actual clinical cases were detected.
Research Methodology
The researchers focused on finding traces of West Nile Virus (WNV) in the ecosystem. This entailed:
- Conducting serological evaluation of sera from 678 equids (horses) and 478 birds with a WNV-specific blocking ELISA test, and then confirming the positive results with plaque reduction neutralisation tests (PRNTs).
- Performing molecular analysis on sera from 992 healthy equids and on 63 brain macerates of equids that died of encephalitis but had tested negative for other pathogens.
- Testing swabs from 928 birds.
- Analyzing samples collected from different biomes across Brazil.
Findings
The key outcomes of the research demonstrate WNV spread, but there is a lack of confirmation for clinical WNV cases:
- They found WNV antibodies using ELISA test in 13 equid and 5 bird samples.
- After performing the PRNT90 tests for confirmation, only four equid samples collected in 2009 in an area between the Amazon and the Pantanal were positive.
- No bird samples which were tested positive by ELISA were confirmed as positive by PRNT90.
- All samples tested for actual virus presence using RT-PCR were negative.
Conclusion
The study, thus, establishes the circulation of WNV in Brazil, but without actual detection of clinical cases. This means that although the virus is present in the country, it is not causing illnesses. Such findings have significant implications for public health policies to control the potential outbreak of West Nile Virus.
Cite This Article
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- BSL3 Laboratório de Virologia Clínica e Molecular Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), 05508-900 São Paulo, Brasil.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Wild / immunology
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- Birds / immunology
- Brazil / epidemiology
- Culicidae / immunology
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
- Horses / immunology
- Humans
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- West Nile Fever / diagnosis
- West Nile Fever / epidemiology
- West Nile virus / immunology
Citations
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