0000000000700417
AUTHOR
Giovanni Savini
Further spread of West Nile virus in Italy.
Following two consecutive years of West Nile virus (WNV) circulation in Italy, new foci of infection were observed in August 2010 in Sicily and Molise in southern and central Italy, respectively. These incidents were far from the previous infected area in northern Italy, thereby confirming the ability of WNV to spread to new areas and affect new host populations. © Istituto G. Caporale 2010.
West Nile Disease (WND) in Sicily
WND is an emerging vector-borne zoonosis caused by an RNA virus included in the Japanese encephalitis group within the Flavivirus genus. In Italy, after the first appearance in Tuscany in 1998, West Nile Virus (WNV) has been continuously circulating since 2008. A National Surveillance Program consisting of monitoring horses, “sentinel poultries”, wild bird mortality and mosquitoes is active in the entire national territory since 2002. Authors describe the outbreaks which occurred in Sicily in 2010 and 2011. Case study: Between September-October 2010, seven horses from the western part of the island, in the Trapani province, showed neurological symptoms. In October 2011, another two horses s…
Importance of dogs as sentinels of West Nile Virus activity in urban and suburban areas
Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a virus included in the Japanese encephalitis sero-complex within the genus Flavivirus. In August 2010, cases of West Nile disease were reported for the first time in Sicily. Neurological symptomswere observed in native horses resident in the rural areas around the province of Trapani, in the western part of the island. During the epidemic, important critical questions onwhen the viruswas introduced in the area and aboutwhether the virus had circulated/was circulating in theurban area, emerged and needed to be answered. A retrospective study using dog serum samples was designed to answer these questions. Methods: Between January 2009 and September 2010, …