West Nile, Sindbis and Usutu Viruses: Evidence of Circulation in Mosquitoes and Horses in Tunisia.

ABSTRACT: Mosquito-borne diseases have a significant impact on humans and animals and this impact is exacerbated by environmental changes. However, in Tunisia, surveillance of the West Nile virus (WNV) is based solely on the surveillance of human neuroinvasive infections and no study has reported mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs), nor has there been any thorough serological investigation of anti-MBV antibodies in horses. This study therefore sought to investigate the presence of MBVs in Tunisia. Among tested mosquito pools, infections by WNV, Usutu virus (USUV), and Sindbis virus (SINV) were identified in Cx. perexiguus. The serosurvey showed that 146 of 369 surveyed horses were positive for flavivirus antibodies using the cELISA test. The microsphere immunoassay (MIA) showed that 74 of 104 flavi

SUBMITTER: M'ghirbi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10056592 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature