Low Seroprevalence of WNV in Namibian Dogs Suggests a Limited Effectiveness as Sentinels for Infection Monitoring.

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV) is an important zoonotic Flavivirus responsible for mild fever to severe neurological disease in humans and horses. Despite the occurrence of major previous outbreaks in Namibia and the likelihood of the current endemicity of the virus, only limited investigations and monitoring activities of WNV have been performed in the country. The use of animal sentinels is a valuable approach toward investigating the infection presence in an area and to predict the potential occurrence of human outbreaks. Serological investigations in dogs hold several advantages, considering their infection susceptibility, the ease of sample handling, and the evaluation of risk factors of pet owners that share the same habit with their pets. To evaluate the usefulness of such a sero-epidemiolog

SUBMITTER: Molini U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10146826 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature