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Article: West Nile virus in horses, sub-Saharan Africa.(DISPATCHES)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To evaluate the presence and extension of West Nile virus where French soldiers are stationed in Africa, specific antibody prevalence was determined by using ELISA and Western blot. Among 245 horses living in close proximity to the soldiers, seroprevalence was particularly high in Chad (97%) and Senegal (92%).
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West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus, was first isolated in Africa, West Nile district of Uganda, in 1937 (1). It has been shown to infect humans and a wide spectrum of animal species, including birds and horses. WNV infection is often inapparent or mild in humans but may cause severe and even fatal encephalitis in ...