First serological evidence of West Nile virus infection in wild birds in Northern Algeria

Medrouh, Bachir; Lafri, Ismail; Beck, Cécile; Leulmi, H; Akkou, Madjid; Abbad, Lynda; Lafri, Mohamed; Bitam, Idir; Lecollinet, Sylvie

doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2020.101415

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…USUV was isolated for the first time from a Culex neavei mosquito captured near the Usutu river in Ndumu, South Africa, in 1959 [ 18 , 19 ]. Subsequently, USUV circulation in the African continent has been detected in several countries: Senegal, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Until 2001, USUV was considered as exclusively African, non-fatal for wild birds or domestic animals, and exceptionally zoonotic [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Vitro and In Vivo Models to Study the Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Usutu Virus

Benzarti

Garigliany

2020

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Usutu virus (USUV), a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus discovered in South Africa in 1959, has spread to many European countries over the last 20 years. The virus is currently a major concern for animal health due to its expanding host range and the growing number of avian mass mortality events. Although human infections with USUV are often asymptomatic, they are occasionally accompanied by neurological complications reminiscent of those due to West Nile virus (another flavivirus closely related to USUV). Whilst USUV actually appears less threatening than some other emergent arboviruses, the lessons learned from Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses during the past few years should not be ignored. Further, it would not be surprising if, with time, USUV disperses further eastwards towards Asia and possibly westwards to the Americas, which may result in more pathogenic USUV strains to humans and/or animals. These observations, inviting the scientific community to be more vigilant about the spread and genetic evolution of USUV, have prompted the use of experimental systems to understand USUV pathogenesis and to boost the development of vaccines and antivirals. This review is the first to provide comprehensive coverage of existing in vitro and in vivo models for USUV infection and to discuss their contribution in advancing data concerning this neurotropic virus. We believe that this paper is a helpful tool for scientists to identify gaps in the knowledge about USUV and to design their future experiments to study the virus.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Vitro and In Vivo Models to Study the Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Usutu Virus

Benzarti

Garigliany

2020

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…West Nile virus was first isolated from a human in 1937. Since then, its distribution has expanded to all continents except the arctic regions [7]. Zika virus outbreaks occurred in the South Pacific in 2013 and in the Americas in 2015 [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High sensitivity of one-step real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR to detect low virus titers in large mosquito pools

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals in the world. Their ability to carry and spread diseases to humans causes millions of deaths every year. Due to the lack of efficient vaccines, the control of mosquito-borne diseases primarily relies on the management of the vector. Traditional control methods are insufficient to control mosquito populations. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an additional control method that can be combined with other control tactics to suppress specific mosquito populations. The SIT requires the mass-rearing and release of sterile males with the aim to induce sterility in the wild female population. Samples collected from the environment for laboratory colonization, as well as the released males, should be free from mosquito-borne viruses (MBV). Therefore, efficient detection methods with defined detection limits for MBV are required. Although a one-step reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method was developed to detect arboviruses in human and mosquito samples, its detection limit in mosquito samples has yet to be defined. Methods We evaluated the detection sensitivity of one step RT-qPCR for targeted arboviruses in large mosquito pools, using pools of non-infected mosquitoes of various sizes (165, 320 and 1600 mosquitoes) containing one infected mosquito body with defined virus titers of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), usutu virus (USUV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Zika virus (ZIKV). Results CHIK, USUV, ZIKV, and WNV virus were detected in all tested pools using the RT-qPCR assay. Moreover, in the largest mosquito pools (1600 mosquitoes), RT-qPCR was able to detect the targeted viruses using different total RNA quantities (10, 1 and 0.1 ng per reaction) as a template. Correlating the virus titer with the total RNA quantity allowed the prediction of the maximum number of mosquitoes per pool in which the RT-qPCR can theoretically detect the virus infection. Conclusions Mosquito-borne viruses can be reliably detected by RT-qPCR assay in pools of mosquitoes exceeding 1000 specimens. This will represent an important step to expand pathogen-free colonies for mass-rearing sterile males for programmes that have a SIT component by reducing the time and the manpower needed to conduct this quality control process.

show abstract

“…Other related viruses in this complex includes the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), West Nile virus (WNV), Yellow fever virus, Dengue and Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) which are some of the most pathogenic arboviruses of health impact to humans and animals ( 1 ). USUV was first discovered from mosquitoes in South Africa in 1959 and has since been reported in animal (rats, horses and dogs) and human hosts ( Figure 1 ) in African regions like South Africa ( 4 ), West Africa ( 2 ), Central African Republic ( 1 ), Northern Africa ( 5 ), and East Africa ( 6 ) ( Figure 2 ). Also, USUV has spread from Africa to Europe (emerged in the continent in 2001) and been documented in wide range of animals (birds, boars, squirrels, chimpanzees, reptiles, or horses) and humans in member countries such as Germany ( 7 ), Czech Republic ( 8 ), Hungary ( 9 ), Italy ( 10 ), Portugal ( 11 ), Spain ( 12 ), Austria ( 13 ), and the United Kingdom ( 14 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Usutu virus: An emerging flavivirus with potential threat to public health in Africa: Nigeria as a case study

Akinsulie

Adesola²,

Bakre³

et al. 2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Usutu virus (USUV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) of the flaviviridae family (genus Flavivirus) which belong to the Japanese encephalitis virus complex. Culex mosquitoes have been implicated in the transmission of this pathogen. The major susceptible hosts of USUV are migratory birds, thereby potentiating its ability to spread from one region to another globally. Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa with a significant percentage of the gross domestic product relying on the agricultural and animal production industry. This review explores the zoonotic potentials of the virus in Africa, especially Nigeria, with special focus on the devastating sequelae this might lead to in the future if necessary precautionary policies are not enacted and adopted to bolster the surveillance system for mosquito-borne viruses.

show abstract

First serological evidence of West Nile virus infection in wild birds in Northern Algeria

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

In Vitro and In Vivo Models to Study the Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Usutu Virus

In Vitro and In Vivo Models to Study the Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Usutu Virus

High sensitivity of one-step real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR to detect low virus titers in large mosquito pools

Usutu virus: An emerging flavivirus with potential threat to public health in Africa: Nigeria as a case study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About