Outbreak of West Nile Virus Infection in Greece, 2010

Danis, Kostas; Papa, Anna; Theocharopoulos, George; Δουγάς, Γεώργιος; Athanasiou, Maria; Detsis, Marios; Baka, A; Lytras, Theodore; Mellou, Kassiani; Bonovas, Stefanos; Panagiotopoulos, Takis

doi:10.3201/eid1710.110525

Cited by 170 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Of these cases, 161 (81.7%) and 14 (18.4%) were reported from regional units where domestic pigeons were being monitored, respectively [9,10]. Specifically, during 2010, WNND cases were reported in 60 humans in Thessaloniki (27 in urban and 33 in rural areas), 41 [10].…”

Section: Correlation Of Wnv Point Seroprevalence In Pigeons With Incimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of a West Nile virus surveillance and early warning system in Greece, based on domestic pigeons

Chaintoutis¹,

Dovas²,

Papanastassopoulou³

et al. 2014

Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

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a b s t r a c tIn the summer of 2010 an epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) occurred in Central Macedonia, Greece, with 197 human neuroinvasive disease (WNND) cases. In the following years the virus spread to new areas, with a total of 76 WNND cases in 2011, and 109 WNND cases in 2012 (14 and 12 WNND cases, respectively, in Central Macedonia). We established a surveillance system based on serological testing of domestic pigeons, using cELISA confirmed by serum neutralization test. In Central Macedonia, pigeon seroprevalence was 54% (95% CI: 49-59%) and 31% (95% CI: 24-37%) at the end of the 2010 and 2011 epidemic seasons, respectively. One serum was positive for neutralizing antibodies directed against Usutu virus. Pigeon WNV seroprevalence and incidence rates of human WNND after the 2010 epidemic were positively correlated ( = 0.94, at the regional unit level), while in 2011 the correlation ( = 0.56) was not statistically significant, possibly due to small number of human WNND cases recorded. To evaluate the efficacy of the system at alerting upon WNV enzootic circulation before the onset of human cases, we tested 270 pigeons in 2011 and 240 pigeons in 2012. In Central Macedonia, the first seroconversions in pigeons were recorded 44 and 47 days, respectively, before the first human WNND cases. Pigeon surveillance was used successfully for identification of areas with WNV enzootic transmission and for early warning. Timely diffusion of information to health authorities facilitated the implementation of preparedness plans to protect public health.

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Section: Correlation Of Wnv Point Seroprevalence In Pigeons With Incimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2010, a WNV epidemic occurred in Greece, with 197 human cases that suffered from neurological signs (WNND) and 35 fatalities [9]. Two other epidemics occurred the following years, with 76 human WNND cases, as well as 8 fatalities in 2011 and 109 reported WNND cases in humans and 16 fatalities in 2012 [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a West Nile virus surveillance and early warning system in Greece, based on domestic pigeons

Chaintoutis¹,

Dovas²,

Papanastassopoulou³

et al. 2014

Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

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“…During July-November 2010, 8 cases were reported from İzmir and the incidence was 0.21 per 100,000 population (16). That same year, human WNV disease was reported to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) from neighboring countries as follows: Greece, 262 probable and confirmed cases (17); Russian Federation, 448 cases (18); Romania, 57 cases (19); and Italy, 6 cases (20). In 2011, 3 probable and 2 confirmed cases of WNV infections were identified in Turkey from the same provinces that were affected by WNV in 2010 (16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of West Nile virus among healthy blood donors in the western part of Turkey

Biçeroğlu

Karataylı²,

Bayram³

et al. 2015

Turk J Med Sci

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Background/aim: The West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus causing different forms of infection among humans, varying from asymptomatic illness to fetal central nervous system infection. Turkey lies within an endemic region for WNV. Transfusion of infected blood products is another well-documented major route of transmission. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of WNV viremia among a healthy donor population from the western part of the country. Materials and methods:A total of 438 healthy volunteer blood donors were included in the study. The presence of WNV RNA was investigated by quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and anti-WNV IgG was detected by a commercial ELISA test.Results: Ages of volunteer donors were 18-62 years (mean: 34.7) and 34 (7.76%) were women. All samples were negative for WNV RNA by qRT-PCR. Eleven (2.51%) samples, 1 of which was borderline, were positive for anti-WNV IgG. All positive samples were from the western part of the country and 9 of them were from İzmir. Conclusion:Although all donor samples were negative for WNV RNA by qRT-PCR, the risk of WNV transmission via blood products should not be ignored in endemic regions.

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“…In 2010, several WNV outbreaks in humans were observed all over Europe, however the largest number of cases was recorded in Greece (Danis et al, 2011). After that, human cases were reported for four more years, during a transmission cycle that goes from June to September (Hadjichristodoulou et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Reconstructed Land Surface Temperature Data From Space Predict a West Nile Virus Outbreak?

Andreo

Metz²,

Neteler

et al. 2017

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:Temperature is one of the main drivers of ecological processes. The availability of temporally and spatially continuous temperature time series is crucial in different research and application fields, such as epidemiology and control of zoonotic diseases. In 2010, several West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks in humans were observed in Europe, with the largest number of cases recorded in Greece. Human cases continued to occur for four more years. The occurrence of the 2010's outbreak in Greece has been related to positive anomalies in temperature. Currently available remote sensing time series might provide the temporal and spatial coverage needed to assess this kind of hypothesis. However, the main problem with remotely sensed temperature are the gaps caused by cloud cover. With the objective of testing the former hypothesis, we reconstructed daily MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) data and derived several indices that are known or hypothesized to be related to mosquito populations, WNV transmission or risk of disease since they might constitute proxies for favoring or limiting conditions. We present the first results of the comparisons of time series of LST-derived indices among locations with WNV human cases and municipalities with and without reported WNV infection in Greece between 2010 and 2014.

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Outbreak of West Nile Virus Infection in Greece, 2010

Cited by 170 publications

References 12 publications

Evaluation of a West Nile virus surveillance and early warning system in Greece, based on domestic pigeons

Evaluation of a West Nile virus surveillance and early warning system in Greece, based on domestic pigeons

Investigation of West Nile virus among healthy blood donors in the western part of Turkey

Can Reconstructed Land Surface Temperature Data From Space Predict a West Nile Virus Outbreak?

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