Abstract
Flaviviruses have evolved principally by mutational change. Human disease caused by flaviviruses is classified as either (i) central nervous system (CNS) infection, (ii) hemorrhagic fever, or (iii) fever-arthralgia with or without rash. St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus is a member of the Japanese encephalitis (JE) antigenic complex, and antigenic cross-reactivities between SLE virus and other members of the complex are demonstrable with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. JE virus is the prototype of an antigenic complex that includes SLE and Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) viruses, West Nile virus (WNV), and several other flaviviruses of lesser medical importance. The host range of MVE virus and susceptibility of cell cultures are provided in this chapter. Antigenic analyses differentiate strains of WNV from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East from strains isolated in India and the Far East. WNV is one of the most widely distributed of all arboviruses. Dengue virus fever is caused by four antigenically and genetically related but distinct viruses (dengue virus types 1 to 4) are distinguished by neutralization tests. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is described in detail. The chapter also talks about the techniques for virus isolation and reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) from blood of acutely ill patients, and discusses the control of Aedes aegypti for dengue virus.
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