Phylogeography of West Nile virus: from the cradle of evolution in Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas.

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV) is the most widely distributed of the encephalitic flaviviruses and is a major cause of encephalitis, with isolates obtained from all continents, apart from Antarctica. Subsequent to its divergence from the other members of the Japanese encephalitis virus complex, presumably in Africa, WNV has diverged into individual lineages that mostly correspond with geographic distribution. Here we elucidate the phylogeography and evolutionary history of isolates from lineage 1 of WNV. Interestingly, there are many examples of the same amino acid having evolved independently on multiple occasions. In Africa, WNV exists in an endemic cycle, whereas it is epidemic in Europe, being reintroduced regularly from Africa either directly (in western Europe) or via the Middle East (in east

SUBMITTER: May FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3067944 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature