Serological differentiation of West Nile, Usutu, and tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies in birds and horses using mutant E protein ELISAs.

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are worldwide endemic zoonotic orthoflaviviruses, often co-circulating in the same areas. Serological studies in animals, mostly birds and horses, are important means to monitor the spread of these viruses and the infection risks for humans. However, cross-reactive antibodies to these structurally similar flaviviruses frequently impact serological differentiation in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), hence time-consuming virus neutralization tests (VNTs) have to be employed in laboratories with high biosafety level. This study presents ELISAs using recombinant flavivirus E proteins with point mutations in the conserved fusion loop domain (Equad proteins) for differentiating IgY or IgG antibodies ag

SUBMITTER: Schwarzer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12328586 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature