Abstract:West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a non-contagious disease mainly transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes from the genus Culex. The virus is maintained in a mosquito-bird-mosquito cycle, and can accidentally be transmitted to mammalian hosts. Among mammalian hosts, equines and humans are the most sensitive to WNV infection and can develop severe meningoencephalitis. As WNV infections are zoonotic and can be severe in humans and equines, West Nile fever is considered to be a public and animal health co… Show more
“…After nine years of apparent absence, in 2015, a large outbreak involving horses occurred in Camargue. Forty nine horses were infected by WNV with 41 exhibiting signs of neuroinvasive disease [47]. Human WNV cases had been notified on rare occasions during the years 2000, with only seven autochthonous human cases of WNF reported in the Var Department during 2003.…”
Section: National Mosquito-borne Threatsmentioning
Mosquito-borne viruses are the cause of some of the greatest burdens to human health worldwide, particularly in tropical regions where both human populations and mosquito numbers are abundant. Due to a combination of anthropogenic change, including the effects on global climate and wildlife migration there is strong evidence that temperate regions are undergoing repeated introduction of mosquito-borne viruses and the re-emergence of viruses that previously were not detected by surveillance. In Europe, the repeated introductions of West Nile and Usutu viruses have been associated with bird migration from Africa, whereas the autochthonous transmission of chikungunya and dengue viruses has been driven by a combination of invasive mosquitoes and rapid transcontinental travel by infected humans. In addition to an increasing number of humans at risk, livestock and wildlife, are also at risk of infection and disease. This in turn can affect international trade and species diversity, respectively. Addressing these challenges requires a range of responses both at national and international level. Increasing the understanding of mosquito-borne transmission of viruses and the development of rapid detection methods and appropriate therapeutics (vaccines / antivirals) all form part of this response. The aim of this review is to consider the range of mosquito-borne viruses that threaten public health in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, and the national response of a number of countries facing different levels of threat.
“…After nine years of apparent absence, in 2015, a large outbreak involving horses occurred in Camargue. Forty nine horses were infected by WNV with 41 exhibiting signs of neuroinvasive disease [47]. Human WNV cases had been notified on rare occasions during the years 2000, with only seven autochthonous human cases of WNF reported in the Var Department during 2003.…”
Section: National Mosquito-borne Threatsmentioning
Mosquito-borne viruses are the cause of some of the greatest burdens to human health worldwide, particularly in tropical regions where both human populations and mosquito numbers are abundant. Due to a combination of anthropogenic change, including the effects on global climate and wildlife migration there is strong evidence that temperate regions are undergoing repeated introduction of mosquito-borne viruses and the re-emergence of viruses that previously were not detected by surveillance. In Europe, the repeated introductions of West Nile and Usutu viruses have been associated with bird migration from Africa, whereas the autochthonous transmission of chikungunya and dengue viruses has been driven by a combination of invasive mosquitoes and rapid transcontinental travel by infected humans. In addition to an increasing number of humans at risk, livestock and wildlife, are also at risk of infection and disease. This in turn can affect international trade and species diversity, respectively. Addressing these challenges requires a range of responses both at national and international level. Increasing the understanding of mosquito-borne transmission of viruses and the development of rapid detection methods and appropriate therapeutics (vaccines / antivirals) all form part of this response. The aim of this review is to consider the range of mosquito-borne viruses that threaten public health in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, and the national response of a number of countries facing different levels of threat.
“…Within this area, WNV is considered a potential etiology for all equine clinical cases that include neurological symptoms, and occur between July and November. Equine suspect clinical cases were reported through local Veterinary Services or the French equine epidemiosurveillance network RESPE (Bahuon et al., ). Case confirmation during the 2015 WNV epizootics was based on laboratory findings, for example, positive screening by competition and IgM capture ELISA tests, followed by positivity in WNV virus neutralization assays.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…West Nile Virus infection in humans and horses is generally asymptomatic or associated with influenza‐like illness; however, in some cases, the infection can lead to severe neurological symptoms and mortality (Hayes et al., ). The Mediterranean coast of France was affected by several equine WNV outbreaks between 2000 and 2006, and again in 2015 after nine years of silence (Bahuon et al., ; Beck et al., ). Few studies have evaluated the benefit of using mortality data from actual outbreaks in equine disease surveillance (Faverjon, ).…”
Few studies about the use of quantitative equine mortality data for monitoring purposes are available. Our study evaluated the utility of monitoring emerging equine diseases using mortality data collected by rendering plants. We used approaches involving modelling of historical mortality fluctuations and detection algorithm methods to analyse changes in equine mortality in connection with the West Nile Virus (WNV) outbreak that occurred between July and September 2015 along the Mediterranean coast of France. Two weeks after the first equine WNV case was detected by clinical surveillance, detection algorithms identified excess mortality. The temporal distribution of this excess mortality suggested that it was related to the WNV outbreak, which may helped to assess the impact of the WNV epizootic on equine mortality. The results suggest that real‐time follow‐up of mortality could be a useful tool for equine health surveillance.
“…USUV frequently co-circulates with WNV in numerous European countries. WNV re-emerged in 2015 in Southeast France concomitantly with USUV, and enhanced dual reporting of WNV and USUV outbreaks in 2018 was observed in several European countries [ 40 ]. Fig.…”
Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging arbovirus that was first isolated in South Africa in 1959. This Flavivirus is maintained in the environment through a typical enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes and birds. USUV has spread to a large part of the European continent over the two decades mainly leading to substantial avian mortalities with a significant recrudescence of bird infections recorded throughout Europe within the few last years. USUV infection in humans is considered to be most often asymptomatic or to cause mild clinical signs. Nonetheless, a few cases of neurological complications such as encephalitis or meningoencephalitis have been reported. USUV and West Nile virus (WNV) share many features, like a close phylogenetic relatedness and a similar ecology, with co-circulation frequently observed in nature. However, USUV has been much less studied and in-depth comparisons of the biology of these viruses are yet rare. In this review, we discuss the main body of knowledge regarding USUV and compare it with the literature on WNV, addressing in particular virological and clinical aspects, and pointing data gaps.
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