West Nile Virus in Culex Mosquitoes in Central Macedonia, Greece, 2022.

ABSTRACT: In 2022, Greece was the second most seriously affected European country in terms of the West Nile virus (WNV), after Italy. Specifically, Central Macedonia was the region with the most reported human cases (81.5%). In the present study, 30,816 female Culex pipiens sensu lato mosquitoes were collected from May to September 2022 in the seven regional units of Central Macedonia; they were then grouped into 690 pools and tested for WNV, while next-generation sequencing was applied to the samples, which showed a cycle threshold of Ct < 30 in a real-time RT-PCR test. WNV was detected in 5.9% of pools, with significant differences in the detection rate among regional units and months. It is of interest that in the Thessaloniki regional unit, where most of the human cases were observed, the virus

SUBMITTER: Tsioka K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9863787 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature