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Virus Evol 2022 18;8(1):veac027. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

UMR "Unité des Virus Emergents", Aix-Marseille Université-IRD 190-Inserm 1207-IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.

Intraspecies (homologous) phylogenetic incongruence, or 'tree conflict' between different loci within the same genome of mosquito-borne flaviviruses (MBFV), was first identified in dengue virus (DENV) and subsequently in Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), St Louis encephalitis virus, and Zika virus (ZIKV). Recently, the first evidence of phylogenetic incongruence between interspecific members of the MBFV was reported in ZIKV and its close relative, Spondweni virus. Uniquely, these hybrid proteomes were derived from four incongruent trees involving an -associated DENV node (1 tree) and three different -associated flavivirus nodes (3 trees). Read More

J Am Mosq Control Assoc 2022 Jun;38(2):109-112

Green stormwater infrastructure provides environmental, economic, and health benefits as a strategy for building resilience against climate change impacts. However, it may inadvertently increase vulnerability due to improper design and construction or lack of maintenance. We engaged city stakeholders and a diverse student group to investigate possible maladaptation. Read More

Med Trop Sante Int 2021 Jun 12;1(2). Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Laboratoire de biotechnologie, conservation et développement des ressources naturelles, Faculté des sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Fès, Maroc.

Objective: As part of the prevention of vector-borne diseases in central Morocco, a study of the seasonal fluctuation of Culicidian biodiversity was conducted from November 2015 to November 2016 on four breeding sites located in the city of Fez in central Morocco (Jnan El Alami, Lgaâda dam, Awinat Elhajaj, Douwar Lhandiya Source). The study aimed to improve the knowledge of seasonal dynamics and activity period of Culicidian mosquitoes, in order to target the period of control.

Methods: Larvae were collected by dipping method at a 15-day interval at least once a month. Read More

Infect Dis Ther 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.

Climate change is adversely affecting the burden of infectious disease throughout the world, which is a health security threat. Climate-sensitive infectious disease includes vector-borne diseases such as malaria, whose transmission potential is expected to increase because of enhanced climatic suitability for the mosquito vector in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. Climatic suitability for the mosquitoes that can carry dengue, Zika, and chikungunya is also likely to increase, facilitating further increases in the geographic range and longer transmission seasons, and raising concern for expansion of these diseases into temperate zones, particularly under higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2022 May 18;15(5). Epub 2022 May 18.

Radiology, Kocaeli University School of Medicine, Izmit, Turkey.

A man in his 70s was admitted to our hospital with complaints of fatigue, loss of appetite and fever. His neurological examination was normal. He had a medical history of diabetes mellitus for 25 years. Read More

Rev Bras Farmacogn 2022 May 7:1-11. Epub 2022 May 7.

Department of Botany, Sri Kaliswari College (Autonomous), Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu 626123 India.

Dengue fever has become one of the deadliest infectious diseases and requires the development of effective antiviral therapies. It is caused by members of the Flaviviridae family, which also cause various infections in humans, including dengue fever, tick-borne encephalitis, West Nile fever, and yellow fever. In addition, since 2019, dengue-endemic regions have been grappling with the public health and socio-economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus disease 19. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2022 Apr 28;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Imouzzer Street, Fez 2202, Morocco.

The present study investigates the insecticidal effect of plant extract such as and essential oils and some of their major compounds; these plants are well known for their many biological activities. The fumigant toxicity was evaluated, using glass jars, against female adults of that constitute a mosquito vector of important diseases such as the West Nile virus. The adulticidal test showed that both essential oils and monoterpenes presented an insecticidal effect better than the chemical insecticide (Deltamethrin). Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 May 3;19(9). Epub 2022 May 3.

Center for Health Economics, Social and Health Care Management, LIUC-Università Cattaneo, Corso Matteotti 22, 21053 Castellanza, Italy.

In Italy, the West Nile Virus surveillance plan considers a multidisciplinary approach to identify the presence of the virus in the environment (entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance) and to determine the risk of infections through potentially infected donors (blood and organ donors). The costs associated with the surveillance program for the Lombardy Region between 2014 and 2018 were estimated. The costs of the program were compared with a scenario in which the program was not implemented, requiring individual blood donation nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) to detect the presence of WNV in human samples throughout the seasonal period of vector presence. Read More

Transfusion 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Medical Affairs and Innovation, Héma-Québec, Québec city, Canada.

Background: The last economic evaluation of pathogen reduction technology (PRT) in Canada was conducted in 2007. We reassessed the cost-effectiveness of PRT in the province of Québec (which has its own blood supplier) and included an evaluation of the potential impact of emerging pathogens on cost-effectiveness.

Study Design And Methods: Decision analytic Markov models were developed to simulate the costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) associated with PRT as an addition to existing safety measures for plasma and platelet products (except for bacterial culture). Read More

Cureus 2022 Apr 10;14(4):e24003. Epub 2022 Apr 10.

Interventional Radiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, USA.

West Nile (WN) disease is a relatively rare arboviral virus. Neuroinvasive cases of WN account for less than 1% of the total cases. The case described had difficult symptomatology and radical presentation, which included ascending paralysis. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera 'Torlak', Belgrade, Serbia.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne virus classified asfamily Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus. The first WNV outbreak in humans in the Republic of Serbia was recorded in 2012. Equids and dogs can show clinical symptoms after WNV infection, and are often used as sentinels. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 May 9;16(5):e0010375. Epub 2022 May 9.

Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, United States of America.

Local vector control and public health agencies in California use the California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Plan to monitor and evaluate West Nile virus (WNV) activity and guide responses to reduce the burden of WNV disease. All available data from environmental surveillance, such as the abundance and WNV infection rates in Culex tarsalis and the Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes, the numbers of dead birds, seroconversions in sentinel chickens, and ambient air temperatures, are fed into a formula to estimate the risk level and associated risk of human infections. In many other areas of the US, the vector index, based only on vector mosquito abundance and infection rates, is used by vector control programs to estimate the risk of human WNV transmission. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2022 May 9:e0059222. Epub 2022 May 9.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventiongrid.416738.f, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Flaviviruses are important human pathogens worldwide. Diagnostic testing for these viruses is difficult because many of the pathogens require specialized biocontainment. To address this issue, we generated 39 virus-like particle (VLP)- and nonstructural protein 1 (NS1)-secreting stable cell lines in HEK-293 cells of 13 different flaviviruses, including dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, St. Read More

J Avian Med Surg 2022 May;36(1):85-91

Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital and the Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

West Nile virus (WNV) has had a significant effect on avian populations in the United States since being first identified in 1999. Avian species in WNV endemic areas do not suffer the same level of mortality that has been reported in birds within the United States since the virus was first identified in North America. Because of their unique susceptibility, American crows () are often used to monitor the spread and severity of WNV in North America. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 May 6;71(18):628-632. Epub 2022 May 6.

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of infected mosquitoes and ticks. West Nile virus (WNV), mainly transmitted by Culex species mosquitos, is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the United States (1). Other arboviruses cause sporadic cases of disease and occasional outbreaks. Read More

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2022 03 28;166. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Nederlandse Voedsel en Warenautoriteit, Centrum Monitoring Vectoren, Wageningen.

West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in birds, mosquitoes and subsequently in humans in the Netherlands in 2020. In 2016 , we had discussed the factors that influence the introduction, establishment and dissemination of WNV in the Netherlands and considered the probability that each of these three phases could occur in the Netherlands, and cause West Nile fever in humans, still relatively small. In the current article we evaluate on the basis of our reasoning at the time, whether we have missed important factors and/or whether new factors have appeared on the horizon. Read More

Can Commun Dis Rep 2022 Apr 6;48(4):124-130. Epub 2022 Apr 6.

Héma-Québec, Montréal, QC.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic galvanized blood donor seroprevalence studies, which continue to inform public health policy. We propose that the two Canadian blood suppliers, Héma-Québec and Canadian Blood Services, expand their role in public health surveillance in the post-pandemic period. Together blood suppliers have near-national reach, collecting blood donations nearly every day in all larger cities and many smaller municipalities. Read More

Front Microbiol 2022 11;13:869441. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Research Center of Avian Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA that affect mRNA abundance or translation efficiency by binding to the 3'UTR of the mRNA of the target gene, thereby participating in multiple biological processes, including viral infection. genus consists of small, positive-stranded, single-stranded RNA viruses transmitted by arthropods, especially mosquitoes and ticks. The genus contains several globally significant human/animal pathogens, such as Dengue virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Zika virus, Yellow fever virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, and Tembusu virus. Read More

Front Vet Sci 2022 7;9:826355. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Department of Veterinary Medicine, State Office for Consumer Protection Saxony-Anhalt, Stendal, Germany.

Inflammation in meninges and/or brain is regularly noticed in red foxes and other wild carnivores during rabies control programs. Despite negative rabies virus (RABV) results, the etiologies of these cases remain unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to provide an overview of the occurrence of pathogens that may cause diseases in the brains of wild carnivores and pose a risk to humans and other animals. Read More

Viruses 2022 Apr 4;14(4). Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic and Emerging Infections, University of Montpellier, INSERM, EFS, 34000 Montpellier, France.

Among emerging arthropod-borne viruses (arbovirus), West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus that can be associated with severe neuroinvasive infections in humans. In 2018, the European WNV epidemic resulted in over 2000 cases, representing the most important arboviral epidemic in the European continent. Characterization of inflammation and neuronal biomarkers released during WNV infection, especially in the context of neuronal impairments, could provide insight into the development of predictive tools that could be beneficial for patient outcomes. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Apr 11;23(8). Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, Pomeranian Medical University, Powstańców Wlkp. 72 Av., 70-111 Szczecin, Poland.

This review describes the role of CXCL1, a chemokine crucial in inflammation as a chemoattractant for neutrophils, in physiology and in selected major non-cancer diseases. Due to the vast amount of available information, we focus on the role CXCL1 plays in the physiology of bones, bone marrow, muscle and the nervous system. For this reason, we describe its effects on hematopoietic stem cells, myoblasts, oligodendrocyte progenitors and osteoclast precursors. Read More

Microorganisms 2022 Apr 12;10(4). Epub 2022 Apr 12.

Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.

West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are important flaviviruses circulating in Germany. While USUV was first reported more than 10 years ago, WNV has only reached the country in 2018. Wild birds are important amplifying hosts for both viruses. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Mar 25;12(4). Epub 2022 Mar 25.

Infectology Clinic, University of Debrecen Clinical Center, 4031 Debrecen, Hungary.

West Nile Virus (WNV) infection is a world-wide zoonotic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The infection is usually self-limiting; however, elderly patients or those with comorbidities are predisposed to developing severe, and sometimes fatal complications of the infection. Recently, the incidence of WNV infection in Europe had seen a sharp increase, as compared to previous years. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 May;28(5):1071-1074

We tested 294 domestic pet dogs in Mexico for neutralizing antibodies for mosquito-borne flaviviruses. We found high (42.6%) exposure to West Nile virus in Reynosa (northern Mexico) and low (1. Read More

Front Microbiol 2022 1;13:801466. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Košice, Slovakia.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne neurotrophic flavivirus causing mild febrile illness to severe encephalitis and acute flaccid paralysis with long-term or permanent neurological disorders. Due to the absence of targeted therapy or vaccines, there is a growing need to develop effective anti-WNV therapy. In this study, single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) were developed against the domain III (DIII) of WNV's envelope glycoprotein to interrupt the interaction between DIII and the human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMEC). Read More

Acta Trop 2022 Apr 14;231:106470. Epub 2022 Apr 14.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus. Electronic address:

West Nile virus (WNV) infections have increased over recent years to the extent that WNV has become one of the most widespread arboviruses in the world, with potential consequences for both human and animal health. While much is known about WNV and the vectors that transmit it from their primary hosts across continental Europe, little is known about the epidemiology of the disease on the island of Cyprus. In this study, the aim was to investigate the prevalence of WNV infection in potential mosquito vectors for the first time in the Republic of Cyprus, using WNV surveillance of mosquitoes. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2022 Apr;7(4)

Health Equity Action Lab, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Introduction: Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are of notable public health importance worldwide, owing to their potential to cause explosive outbreaks and induce debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease manifestations. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the relationship between markers of socioeconomic position (SEP) and infection due to arboviruses with mosquito vectors.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search on PubMed, Embase, and LILACS databases to identify studies published between 1980 and 2020 that measured the association of SEP markers with arbovirus infection. Read More

Lancet Glob Health 2022 05;10(5):e685-e693

CDC India, New Delhi, India.

Background: Annual outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome pose a major health burden in India. Although Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) accounts for around 15% of reported cases, the aetiology of most cases remains unknown. We aimed to establish an enhanced surveillance network and to use a standardised diagnostic algorithm to conduct a systematic evaluation of acute encephalitis syndrome in India. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2022 Apr 12;10(2):e0068522. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

Department of Neurology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a major cause of viral encephalitis in the United States. WNV infection of the brain leads to neuroinflammation characterized by activation of microglia, the resident phagocytic cells of the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, depletion of CNS microglia using the CSF1R antagonist PLX5622 increased the viral load in the brain and decreased the survival of mice infected with WNV (strain TX02). Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2022 ;1366:171-197

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.

Flaviviruses, including Dengue virus, Zika virus, Yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, cause thousands of deaths and millions of illnesses each year. The large outbreak of ZIKV in 2016 reminds us that flaviviruses can pose a serious threat to human safety and public health as emerging and re-emerging viruses. However, there are no specific drugs approved for the treatment of flavivirus infections. Read More