Detection of West Nile virus in wild birds in Tana River and Garissa Counties, Kenya.

ABSTRACT:

Background

West Nile fever virus is a zoonotic arboviral infection maintained in a sylvatic cycle involving mosquito vectors and birds. It is one the arboviruses whose geographical range is expanding because of climate and land use changes that enhance the densities of mosquitoes and promote mosquito-bird-human interactions. We carried out a survey to determine the reservoirs of WNV among wild birds in Tana River and Garissa counties, Kenya.

Methods

Blood samples were obtained from 361 randomly trapped wild birds. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), all samples were screened for WNV using gene specific primer sets amplifying a portion of the E region of the genome encoding the envelope protein.

Results

Sixty five (65) out of 361 birds screened tested posi

SUBMITTER: Nyamwaya D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5121970 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature