Microorganisms (Aug 2021)

West Nile Virus in the State of Ceará, Northeast Brazil

  • Flávia Löwen Levy Chalhoub,
  • Eudson Maia de Queiroz-Júnior,
  • Bruna Holanda Duarte,
  • Marcos Eielson Pinheiro de Sá,
  • Pedro Cerqueira Lima,
  • Ailton Carneiro de Oliveira,
  • Lívia Medeiros Neves Casseb,
  • Liliane Leal das Chagas,
  • Hamilton Antônio de Oliveira Monteiro,
  • Maycon Sebastião Alberto Santos Neves,
  • Cyro Facundo Chaves,
  • Paulo Jean da Silva Moura,
  • Aline Machado Rapello do Nascimento,
  • Rodrigo Giesbrecht Pinheiro,
  • Antonio Roberio Soares Vieira,
  • Francisco Bergson Pinheiro Moura,
  • Luiz Osvaldo Rodrigues da Silva,
  • Kiliana Nogueira Farias da Escóssia,
  • Lindenberg Caranha de Sousa,
  • Izabel Leticia Cavalcante Ramalho,
  • Antônio Williams Lopes da Silva,
  • Leda Maria Simōes Mello,
  • Fábio Felix de Souza,
  • Francisco das Chagas Almeida,
  • Raí dos Santos Rodrigues,
  • Diego do Vale Chagas,
  • Anielly Ferreira-de-Brito,
  • Karina Ribeiro Leite Jardim Cavalcante,
  • Maria Angélica Monteiro de Mello Mares-Guia,
  • Vinícius Martins Guerra Campos,
  • Nieli Rodrigues da Costa Faria,
  • Marcelo Adriano da Cunha e Silva Vieira,
  • Marcos Cesar Lima de Mendonça,
  • Nayara Camila Amorim de Alvarenga Pivisan,
  • Jarier de Oliveira Moreno,
  • Maria Aldessandra Diniz Vieira,
  • Ricristhi Gonçalves de Aguiar Gomes,
  • Fernanda Montenegro de Carvalho Araújo,
  • Pedro Henrique de Oliveira Passos,
  • Daniel Garkauskas Ramos,
  • Alessandro Pecego Martins Romano,
  • Lívia Carício Martins,
  • Ricardo Lourenço-de-Oliveira,
  • Ana Maria Bispo de Filippis,
  • Alex Pauvolid-Corrêa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081699
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 8
p. 1699

Abstract

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In June 2019, a horse with neurological disorder was diagnosed with West Nile virus (WNV) in Boa Viagem, a municipality in the state of Ceará, northeast Brazil. A multi-institutional task force coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Health was deployed to the area for case investigation. A total of 513 biological samples from 78 humans, 157 domestic animals and 278 free-ranging wild birds, as well as 853 adult mosquitoes of 22 species were tested for WNV by highly specific serological and/or molecular tests. No active circulation of WNV was detected in vertebrates or mosquitoes by molecular methods. Previous exposure to WNV was confirmed by seroconversion in domestic birds and by the detection of specific neutralizing antibodies in 44% (11/25) of equids, 20.9% (14/67) of domestic birds, 4.7% (13/278) of free-ranging wild birds, 2.6% (2/78) of humans, and 1.5% (1/65) of small ruminants. Results indicate that not only equines but also humans and different species of domestic animals and wild birds were locally exposed to WNV. The detection of neutralizing antibodies for WNV in free-ranging individuals of abundant passerine species suggests that birds commonly found in the region may have been involved as amplifying hosts in local transmission cycles of WNV.

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