Lineage 2 West Nile Virus as Cause of Fatal Neurologic Disease in Horses, South Africa
| Autor: | Marietjie Venter, Stacey Human, Dewald Zaayman, Gertruida H. Gerdes, June Williams, Johan Steyl, Patricia A. Leman, Janusz Tadeusz Paweska, Hildegard Setzkorn, Gavin Rous, Sue Murray, Rissa Parker, Cynthia Donnellan, Robert Swanepoel |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 6, Pp 877-884 (2009) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 1080-6040 1080-6059 |
| DOI: | 10.3201/eid1506.081515 |
| Popis: | Serologic evidence suggests that West Nile virus (WNV) is widely distributed in horses in southern Africa. However, because few neurologic cases have been reported, endemic lineage 2 strains were postulated to be nonpathogenic in horses. Recent evidence suggests that highly neuroinvasive lineage 2 strains exist in humans and mice. To determine whether neurologic cases are being missed in South Africa, we tested 80 serum or brain specimens from horses with unexplained fever (n = 48) and/or neurologic signs (n = 32) for WNV. From March 2007 through June 2008, using reverse transcription–PCR (RT-PCR) and immunoglobulin (Ig) M ELISA, we found WNV RNA or IgM in 7/32 horses with acute neurologic disease; 5 horses died or were euthanized. In 5/7 horses, no other pathogen was detected. DNA sequencing for all 5 RT-PCR–positive cases showed the virus belonged to lineage 2. WNV lineage 2 may cause neurologic disease in horses in South Africa. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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