West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain?
In Italy, West Nile virus (WNV) appeared for the first time in the Tuscany region in 1998. After 10 years of absence, it re-appeared in the areas surrounding the Po River delta, affecting eight provinces in three regions. Thereafter, WNV epidemics caused by genetically divergent isolates have been d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/1/64 |
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| author | Giulia Mencattelli Federica Iapaolo Federica Monaco Giovanna Fusco Claudio de Martinis Ottavio Portanti Annapia Di Gennaro Valentina Curini Andrea Polci Shadia Berjaoui Elisabetta Di Felice Roberto Rosà Annapaola Rizzoli Giovanni Savini |
| author_facet | Giulia Mencattelli Federica Iapaolo Federica Monaco Giovanna Fusco Claudio de Martinis Ottavio Portanti Annapia Di Gennaro Valentina Curini Andrea Polci Shadia Berjaoui Elisabetta Di Felice Roberto Rosà Annapaola Rizzoli Giovanni Savini |
| author_sort | Giulia Mencattelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Italy, West Nile virus (WNV) appeared for the first time in the Tuscany region in 1998. After 10 years of absence, it re-appeared in the areas surrounding the Po River delta, affecting eight provinces in three regions. Thereafter, WNV epidemics caused by genetically divergent isolates have been documented every year in the country. Since 2018, only WNV Lineage 2 has been reported in the Italian territory. In October 2020, WNV Lineage 1 (WNV-L1) re-emerged in Italy, in the Campania region. This is the first occurrence of WNV-L1 detection in the Italian territory since 2017. WNV was detected in the internal organs of a goshawk (<i>Accipiter gentilis</i>) and a kestrel (<i>Falco tinnunculus</i>). The RNA extracted in the goshawk tissue samples was sequenced, and a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis was performed by a maximum-likelihood tree. Genome analysis, conducted on the goshawk WNV complete genome sequence, indicates that the strain belongs to the WNV-L1 Western-Mediterranean (WMed) cluster. Moreover, a close phylogenetic similarity is observed between the goshawk strain, the 2008–2011 group of Italian sequences, and European strains belonging to the Wmed cluster. Our results evidence the possibility of both a new re-introduction or unnoticed silent circulation in Italy, and the strong importance of keeping the WNV surveillance system in the Italian territory active. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:21:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ff1ced8df2940ffbf02b59795159a55 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:21:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ff1ced8df2940ffbf02b59795159a552023-11-23T15:41:37ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-12-011416410.3390/v14010064West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain?Giulia Mencattelli0Federica Iapaolo1Federica Monaco2Giovanna Fusco3Claudio de Martinis4Ottavio Portanti5Annapia Di Gennaro6Valentina Curini7Andrea Polci8Shadia Berjaoui9Elisabetta Di Felice10Roberto Rosà11Annapaola Rizzoli12Giovanni Savini13Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055 Napoli, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055 Napoli, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyCenter Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, 38098 Trento, ItalyFondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, 38098 Trento, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIn Italy, West Nile virus (WNV) appeared for the first time in the Tuscany region in 1998. After 10 years of absence, it re-appeared in the areas surrounding the Po River delta, affecting eight provinces in three regions. Thereafter, WNV epidemics caused by genetically divergent isolates have been documented every year in the country. Since 2018, only WNV Lineage 2 has been reported in the Italian territory. In October 2020, WNV Lineage 1 (WNV-L1) re-emerged in Italy, in the Campania region. This is the first occurrence of WNV-L1 detection in the Italian territory since 2017. WNV was detected in the internal organs of a goshawk (<i>Accipiter gentilis</i>) and a kestrel (<i>Falco tinnunculus</i>). The RNA extracted in the goshawk tissue samples was sequenced, and a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis was performed by a maximum-likelihood tree. Genome analysis, conducted on the goshawk WNV complete genome sequence, indicates that the strain belongs to the WNV-L1 Western-Mediterranean (WMed) cluster. Moreover, a close phylogenetic similarity is observed between the goshawk strain, the 2008–2011 group of Italian sequences, and European strains belonging to the Wmed cluster. Our results evidence the possibility of both a new re-introduction or unnoticed silent circulation in Italy, and the strong importance of keeping the WNV surveillance system in the Italian territory active.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/1/64ArbovirusWNVWNV-L1Italysurveillancewhole genome sequencing |
| spellingShingle | Giulia Mencattelli Federica Iapaolo Federica Monaco Giovanna Fusco Claudio de Martinis Ottavio Portanti Annapia Di Gennaro Valentina Curini Andrea Polci Shadia Berjaoui Elisabetta Di Felice Roberto Rosà Annapaola Rizzoli Giovanni Savini West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? Viruses Arbovirus WNV WNV-L1 Italy surveillance whole genome sequencing |
| title | West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? |
| title_full | West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? |
| title_fullStr | West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? |
| title_full_unstemmed | West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? |
| title_short | West Nile Virus Lineage 1 in Italy: Newly Introduced or a Re-Occurrence of a Previously Circulating Strain? |
| title_sort | west nile virus lineage 1 in italy newly introduced or a re occurrence of a previously circulating strain |
| topic | Arbovirus WNV WNV-L1 Italy surveillance whole genome sequencing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/1/64 |
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