Abstract
The West Nile Virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus is a common infection identified in the Middle East, Europe, West Asia, Africa, Australia and the United States. The virus can cause severe illnesses and death in horses. The current study aimed to screen West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in Arabian horse populations from breeding farms located in Central, Eastern Anatolia and Marmara by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). We sampled 165 Arabian racehorses, during March-December, 2010, in three different provinces (Eskisehir, Malatya, and Bursa) in Turkey. Screening of serum samples showed that 6.6% were positive for West Nile (WN) virus-neutralizing antibodies. The obtained data demonstrate WNV is circulating in mentioned regions among racehorses and the need to carry out a surveillance program includes WNV-focused screening tests in Turkey.
Highlights
West Nile virus (WNV) was first isolated in Africa, West Nile district of Uganda, in 1937 [1]
It is known that horses in show and racing industry in the world could be exposed to WNV infection because they are a convenient source for feeding mosquitoes [18]
A total of 165 Arabian racehorses, consist of different sex and ages were screened in Central, Eastern Anatolia, and Marmara of Turkey
Summary
West Nile virus (WNV) was first isolated in Africa, West Nile district of Uganda, in 1937 [1]. WNV is a re-emerging neurotropic virus and has a broad geographic distribution; have been reported in horses in several different countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southern Europe, Australia and the Americas [5]. In the United States, WNV infection was first seen in horses in the western half of North America. WNV causes of mildly febrile to severely neurologic symptoms and can cause fatal infections in horses. Encephalitis, the most dangerous symptom that WNV brings to horses, occurs when the virus crosses the brain barrier [7]. Laboratory diagnosis of WNV infection is mostly serological, and the majority of the diagnostic test is ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). It is presented here up to date information and new findings on the presence of specific WNV neutralizing antibodies in Arabian racehorses in three different geographical regions of Turkey. The association of the infection with age-groups, gender, and the geographic location was investigated regarding seroprevalence
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