FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA

Intro: West Nile virus (WNV) is a global important mosquito-borne flavivirus causing West Nile disease (WND) with morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. It is endemic in many North African countries, however, in Libya, WND was reported in humans by serology but never been reported in animals...

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Main Authors: K. Ben Mostafa, G. Savini, A. Dayhum, I. Eldaghayes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-05-01
Series:International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122300317X
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author K. Ben Mostafa
G. Savini
A. Dayhum
I. Eldaghayes
author_facet K. Ben Mostafa
G. Savini
A. Dayhum
I. Eldaghayes
author_sort K. Ben Mostafa
collection DOAJ
description Intro: West Nile virus (WNV) is a global important mosquito-borne flavivirus causing West Nile disease (WND) with morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. It is endemic in many North African countries, however, in Libya, WND was reported in humans by serology but never been reported in animals. Methods: A total of 578 and 63 serum samples from horses and dogs, respectively, were collected from healthy unvaccinated animals between 2016 - 2019. A commercially available competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) kit was initially used to test samples. Positive and doubtful sera for anti‐WNV IgG antibodies using the c-ELISA were confirmed and also screened for WNV and Usutu virus (USUV) antibodies using virus neutralization test (VNT). Findings: The results of anti‐WNV antibodies using c-ELISA showed that 13.1% (76 out of 578) of horses samples and 30.1% (19 out of 63) of dogs samples were positive. A confirmation of ELISA equine and canine positive and doubtful samples using VNT was done. VNT showed that 68.4% (52 out of 76) of serum horses samples were positive and had an overall titration from 1:10 to 1:80. Among the ELISA dogs positive and doubtful samples, VNT showed that 78.9% (15 out of 19) were positive and had an overall titration from 1:10 to 1:80. Discussion: There is lack of information from many African countries and the real burden of WNV infections in Africa is not well known, however, strong evidence on the circulation of WNV in the continent. Horse remains the most relevant species to monitor the circulation of WNV but seroprevalence studies carried out on different animals reported WNV infection in different African countries, however, their role in the transmission cycle is not well understood. Only few countries have reported WNV from dogs in Africa with very scarce information from North Africa. Conclusion: Future research on WND is urgently needed in Libya.
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spelling doaj.art-d9aed936f041424db4b65f094af000812023-05-18T04:38:34ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases1201-97122023-05-01130S76FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYAK. Ben Mostafa0G. Savini1A. Dayhum2I. Eldaghayes3National Center of Animal Health, Department of Serology, Tripoli, LibyaIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise ''G.Caporale'', Department of Virology and Tissue Culture, Teramo, ItalyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tripoli, Department of Preventive Medicine, Tripoli, LibyaFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tripoli, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Tripoli, LibyaIntro: West Nile virus (WNV) is a global important mosquito-borne flavivirus causing West Nile disease (WND) with morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. It is endemic in many North African countries, however, in Libya, WND was reported in humans by serology but never been reported in animals. Methods: A total of 578 and 63 serum samples from horses and dogs, respectively, were collected from healthy unvaccinated animals between 2016 - 2019. A commercially available competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) kit was initially used to test samples. Positive and doubtful sera for anti‐WNV IgG antibodies using the c-ELISA were confirmed and also screened for WNV and Usutu virus (USUV) antibodies using virus neutralization test (VNT). Findings: The results of anti‐WNV antibodies using c-ELISA showed that 13.1% (76 out of 578) of horses samples and 30.1% (19 out of 63) of dogs samples were positive. A confirmation of ELISA equine and canine positive and doubtful samples using VNT was done. VNT showed that 68.4% (52 out of 76) of serum horses samples were positive and had an overall titration from 1:10 to 1:80. Among the ELISA dogs positive and doubtful samples, VNT showed that 78.9% (15 out of 19) were positive and had an overall titration from 1:10 to 1:80. Discussion: There is lack of information from many African countries and the real burden of WNV infections in Africa is not well known, however, strong evidence on the circulation of WNV in the continent. Horse remains the most relevant species to monitor the circulation of WNV but seroprevalence studies carried out on different animals reported WNV infection in different African countries, however, their role in the transmission cycle is not well understood. Only few countries have reported WNV from dogs in Africa with very scarce information from North Africa. Conclusion: Future research on WND is urgently needed in Libya.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122300317X
spellingShingle K. Ben Mostafa
G. Savini
A. Dayhum
I. Eldaghayes
FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
title FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
title_full FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
title_fullStr FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
title_full_unstemmed FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
title_short FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN ANIMALS IN LIBYA
title_sort first detection of west nile virus antibodies in animals in libya
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122300317X
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