Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Nov 2013)

Serologic survey of West Nile virus in horses from Central-West, Northeast and Southeast Brazil

  • Jaqueline Raymondi Silva,
  • Larissa Campos de Medeiros,
  • Vinicius Pinho dos Reis,
  • Juliana Helena Chavez,
  • Thiago Demarchi Munhoz,
  • Gustavo Puia Borges,
  • Otavio Augusto Brioschi Soares,
  • Carlos Henrique Coelho de Campos,
  • Rosangela Zacarias Machado,
  • Cristiane Divan Baldani,
  • Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues Silva,
  • Joice Lara Maia Faria,
  • Edson Elias da Silva,
  • Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0074-0276130052
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 108, no. 7
pp. 921 – 923

Abstract

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Since the emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in North America in 1999, there have been several reports of WNV activity in Central and South American countries. To detect WNV in Brazil, we performed a serological survey of horses from different regions of Brazil using recombinant peptides from domain III of WNV. Positive samples were validated with the neutralisation test. Our results showed that of 79 ELISA-positive horses, nine expressed WNV-specific neutralising antibodies. Eight of the infected horses were from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and one was from the state of Paraíba. Our results provide additional evidence for the emergence of WNV in Brazil and for its circulation in multiple regions of the country.

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