Epidemics of the central nervous system infections caused by West Nile virus in the territory of the South Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia
Background/Aim. West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic RNA virus particle which belongs to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. It is sustained in arthropods within the transmission cycle between the mosquitoes and birds. Most commonly (80% of cases) WNV infections are asymptomatic am...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Military Health Department, Ministry of Defance, Serbia
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2015/0042-84501500115S.pdf |
| Summary: | Background/Aim. West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic RNA virus particle
which belongs to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. It is sustained
in arthropods within the transmission cycle between the mosquitoes and
birds. Most commonly (80% of cases) WNV infections are asymptomatic among
people. Less than 1% of patients develop neuroinvasive forms of the disease
- meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis. The aim of the
research is to determine most common clinical and laboratory
manifestations, to emphazise the presence of comorbidities and outcomes of
treatment among patients with WNV infection. Methods. This retrospective
study, which was conducted in the period from January 1, 2012 to December
31, 2013, evaluated 32 patients who were diagnosed with WNV infection based
on clinical findings, laboratory, and serological tests. To assess
statistical significance we used χ2, and t-test. Results. The study
involved 22 (69%) males and 10 (31%) females aged from 31 to 65 years. On
admission, there were 16 (50%) febrile individuals, 27 (84.4%) with positive
meningeal signs, 17 (53.2%) with pathological neurological signs, and 10
(31.3%) with consciousness disorders. WNV infection was confirmed by the
method enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) in all the patients, while
Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test was positive
in 3 (30%) of the tested patients. Cardiovascular comorbidities dominated in
7 (21.9%) of the cases. Full recovery was accomplished in 87.5 % of the
cases. Conclusion. The results of our study show that the absence of
meningeal signs and fever on the day 7 of hospital treatment are indicators
of good course and prognosis of neuroinvasive forms of WNV infection.
Comorbidities do not increase the risk of disease. ELISA test is a sovereign
diagnostic method. In most cases, after the administered symptomatic
therapy, the complete recovery of patients was achieved. [Projekat
Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31084] |
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| ISSN: | 0042-8450 2406-0720 |