Serological Evidence of West Nile Virus Infection Among Humans, Horses, and Pigeons in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the seroprevalence of WNV antibodies in humans, horses, and pigeons in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 323 humans, 147 horses, and 282 pigeons from two regions, Al-Ahsa and Al-Qatif, in East of Saudi Arabia. Serum samples were tested for anti-WNV antibodies by ELISA. Results:The percentage of anti-WNV antibodies in the human population was found to be 9.6% (3.1% in females and 6.5% in males). This percentage was much higher in horses, as 71.4% (105/147) of the horses had anti-WNV antibodies. However, no statistically significant difference in the anti-WNV antibody prevalence was found among horses from the two regions, Al-Ahsa (73.9%) and Al-Qatif (70.3%) (P value 0.665, 95% CI 0.37-1.82). No significant difference was found in the frequency of WNV antibodies among different age groups from humans or horses. Noticeably, 72.7% of the horses had detectable anti-WNV antibodies by the age of 1 year. In total, 53.19% (150/282) of the pigeons in the study had anti-WNV antibodies. Conclusion:Our study provided the first evidence for anti-WNV antibody detection in humans and pigeons. This study further ascertained the high seroprevalence of the virus in horses as reported previously by Hemida et al 2019. Overall data indicates that WNV is endemic in Saudi Arabia. These findings suggest that more attention should be given to the diagnosis and reporting of WNV infections in human and animals and monitoring of virus circulation in the environment.

The Appropriateness to Use Fixed Assay Cut-Offs for Estimating Seroprevalence [Response to Letter]

“…

We were glad to read the letter to the editor by Da et al 1 on our study. 2 This indicates that our study attracted interest and added a value to the scientific community. We thank the colleagues for the constructive points they raised.

…”

The Appropriateness of Using Fixed Assay Cut-offs for Estimating Seroprevalence [Letter]

“…We read this study 1 with great interest. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of West Nile Virus (WNV) antibodies in humans, horses, and pigeons in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.…”