The seroprevalence of West Nile Virus in Israel: A nationwide cross sectional study

Bassal, Ravit; Shohat, Tamy; Kaufman, Zalman; Mannasse, Batya; Shinar, Eilat; Amichay, Doron; Barak, Manouchehr; Ben-Dor, Anat; Haim, Adina Bar; Cohen, Dani; Mendelson, Ella; Lustig, Yaniv

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0179774

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Therefore, men are more exposed to potential mosquito bites and getting infected because they spend most of the daytime outdoors. Recent studies have been shown a relationship between WNV prevalence and gender [43, 44]. Consistent with our results, there are no significant differences between living in rural or urban areas, because there is no lifestyle disparities between these two populations in this region of the country.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Widespread circulation of West Nile virus, but not Zika virus in southern Iran

et al. 2018

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West Nile virus (WNV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) are mosquito-borne viral infections. Over the past few decades, WNV has been associated with several outbreaks involving high numbers of neuroinvasive diseases among humans. The recent re-emergence of ZIKV has been associated with congenital malformation and also with Guillain–Barre syndrome in adults. The geographic range of arthropod-borne viruses has been rapidly increasing in recent years. The objectives of this study were to determine the presence of IgG specific antibodies and the genome of WNV and ZIKV in human samples, as well as WNV and ZIKV genomes in wild-caught mosquitoes in urban and rural areas of the Hormozgan province, in southern Iran. A total of 494 serum samples were tested for the presence of WNV and ZIKV IgG antibodies using ELISA assays. One hundred and two (20.6%) samples were reactive for WNV IgG antibodies. All serum samples were negative for ZIKV IgG antibodies. Using the multivariable logistic analysis, age (45+ vs. 1–25; OR = 3.4, 95% C.I.: 1.8–6.3), occupation (mostly outdoor vs. mostly indoor; OR = 2.4, 95% C.I.: 1.1–5.2), and skin type(type I/II vs. type III/IV and type V/VI; OR = 4.3, 95% C.I.: 1.7–10.8 and OR = 2.7, 95% C.I.: 1.3–5.5 respectively, skin types based on Fitzpatrick scale) showed significant association with WNV seroreactivity. We collected 2,015 mosquitoes in 136 pools belonging to 5 genera and 14 species. Three pools of Culex pipiens complex were positive for WNV RNA using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rtRT-PCR). ZIKV RNA was not detected in any of the pools. All WNV ELISA reactive serum samples were negative for WNV RNA. In conclusion, we provided evidence of the establishment of WNV in southern Iran and no proof of ZIKV in serum samples or in mosquito vectors. The establishment of an organized arbovirus surveillance system and active case finding strategies seems to be necessary.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Widespread circulation of West Nile virus, but not Zika virus in southern Iran

et al. 2018

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“…The multivariate analysis revealed an increase of SINV seroprevalence with age (Table 2 and Table 3). Several studies have previously similarly demonstrated that seroprevalence is higher with age, both for SINV [21] and for other vector-borne viral diseases such as WNV [17]. This observation fits very well with what we know about vector-borne viruses, i.e., the longer time a person is exposed, the higher the chances of encountering mosquitoes carrying SINV and as a result, the more frequent the infection with SINV.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…According to our study, the prevalence of IgG antibodies against SINV in the Israeli population in 2011–2014 was 3.6% as determined by ELISA assay and 1.9% as determined by SINV NT assay. The discrepancy between the results from ELISA and neutralization assays for arboviral diagnosis is not new and was already demonstrated by us and others for WNV [17,18,19,20]. Since our study measured SINV seroprevalence in the general population, it is much more likely that many of the SINV-positive persons were infected several years ago and therefore had lower levels of IgG which could be enough for detection by ELISA but not to neutralize the virus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Most interesting is the difference we found within the same cohort of samples from the Israeli population between the seroprevalence of SINV (this study, 3.6% and 1.9%) and WNV (11.1%) [17]. Both SINV and WNV are highly abundant in Israeli Culex mosquitoes [13,29] and were found in 6.35% (from mosquito pools collected in 2003–2005 and 2013–2015) and 4.71% (from mosquito pools collected in 2000–2014) of mosquito pools analyzed, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Presence of Antibodies against Sindbis Virus in the Israeli Population: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Koren¹,

Bassal

Shohat

et al. 2019

Viruses

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Sindbis virus (SINV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus circulating globally. SINV outbreaks have been mainly reported in North-European countries. In Israel, SINV was detected in 6.3% of mosquito pools; however, SINV infection in humans has rarely been diagnosed. A serologic survey to detect SINV IgG antibodies was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of SINV in the Israeli population. In total, 3145 serum samples collected in 2011–2014, representing all age and population groups in Israel, were assessed using an indirect ELISA assay, and a neutralization assay was performed on all ELISA-positive samples. The prevalence rates of SINV IgG antibodies were calculated. Logistic regressions models were applied to assess the association between demographic characteristics and SINV seropositivity. Overall, 113 (3.6%) and 59 (1.9%) samples were positive for ELISA and neutralization SINV IgG, respectively. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that SINV seropositivity was significantly associated with older age and residence outside metropolitan areas. These results demonstrate that, despite no outbreaks or clinical presentation, SINV infects the human population in Israel. Seropositivity is countrywide, more frequent in people of older age, and less diffuse in Israel’s metropolitan areas. Seroprevalence studies from other countries will add to our understanding of the global burden of SINV and the risk for potential SINV outbreaks.

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“…Following the 2000 outbreak, a national mosquito surveillance system was established which is responsible for entomological analysis of mosquitoes and characterization of WNV circulation in Israel ( Orshan et al, 2008 ; Lustig et al, 2015 ). Furthermore, WNV infections in humans and seropositivity of the population are monitored routinely and are integrated with mosquito surveillance data by the public health division to assess the burden of WNV circulation in Israel and implement appropriate measures ( Lustig et al, 2015 , 2017a , b ; Bassal et al, 2017 ). Recently, the public health and veterinary services, Israel Nature and Park Authorities and the ministry of environmental protection have initiated a program to integrate WNV data obtained from humans, mosquitos, horses, and birds with the aim to develop a true one health initiative for WNV in Israel.…”

Section: Wnv Surveillance Within the One Health Initiativementioning

confidence: 99%

Surveillance and Diagnosis of West Nile Virus in the Face of Flavivirus Cross-Reactivity

Lustig¹,

Sofer²,

Bucris³

et al. 2018

Front. Microbiol.

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West Nile Virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus whose zoonotic cycle includes both mosquitoes and birds as amplifiers and humans and horses as dead-end hosts. In recent years WNV has been spreading globally and is currently endemic in Africa, The Middle East, India, Australia, central and southern Europe, and the Americas. Integrated surveillance schemes and environmental data aim to detect viral circulation and reduce the risk of infection for the human population emphasizing the critical role for One Health principles in public health. Approximately 20% of WNV infected patients develop West Nile Fever while in less than 1%, infection results in West Nile Neurological Disease. Currently, the diagnosis of WNV infection is primarily based on serology, since molecular identification of WNV RNA is unreliable due to the short viremia. The recent emergence of Zika virus epidemic in America and Asia has added another layer of complexity to WNV diagnosis due to significant cross-reactivity between several members of the Flaviviridae family such as Zika, dengue, Usutu, and West Nile viruses. Diagnosis is especially challenging in persons living in regions with flavivirus co-circulation as well as in travelers from WNV endemic countries traveling to Zika or dengue infected areas or vise-versa. Here, we review the recent studies implementing WNV surveillance of mosquitoes and birds within the One Health initiative. Furthermore, we discuss the utility of novel molecular methods, alongside traditional molecular and serological methods, in WNV diagnosis and epidemiological research.

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The seroprevalence of West Nile Virus in Israel: A nationwide cross sectional study

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Widespread circulation of West Nile virus, but not Zika virus in southern Iran

Widespread circulation of West Nile virus, but not Zika virus in southern Iran

Presence of Antibodies against Sindbis Virus in the Israeli Population: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Surveillance and Diagnosis of West Nile Virus in the Face of Flavivirus Cross-Reactivity

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