Development of Toehold Switches as a Novel Ribodiagnostic Method for West Nile Virus.

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging neurotropic RNA virus and a member of the genus Flavivirus. Naturally, the virus is maintained in an enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes as vectors and birds that are the principal amplifying virus hosts. In humans, the incubation period for WNV disease ranges from 3 to 14 days, with an estimated 80% of infected persons being asymptomatic, around 19% developing a mild febrile infection and less than 1% developing neuroinvasive disease. Laboratory diagnosis of WNV infection is generally accomplished by cross-reacting serological methods or highly sensitive yet expensive molecular approaches. Therefore, current diagnostic tools hinder widespread surveillance of WNV in birds and mosquitoes that serve as viral reservoirs for infecting secondary hosts

SUBMITTER: Giakountis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9859090 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature