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The Australian public is still vulnerable to emerging virulent strains of West Nile virus1,019.07 kB
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The Australian public is still vulnerable to emerging virulent strains of West Nile virus
Frontiers in Public Health, Vol.2(SEP), pp.146-146
2014
PMCID: PMC4166114
PMID: 25279370
Abstract
The mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) is responsible for outbreaks of viral encephalitis in humans and horses with particularly virulent strains causing recent outbreaks in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North America. In Australia, a strain of WNV, Kunjin (WNVKUN), is endemic in the north and infection with this virus is generally asymptomatic. However, in early 2011, following extensive flooding, an unprecedented outbreak of WNVKUN encephalitis in horses occurred in south-eastern Australia, resulting in more than 1,000 cases and a mortality of 10-15%. Despite widespread evidence of equine infections, there was only a single mild human case reported during this outbreak. To understand why clinical disease was seen in horses without similar observations in the human population, a serosurvey was conducted using blood donor samples from areas where equine cases were reported to assess level of flavivirus exposure. The seroprevalence to WNVKUN in humans was low before the outbreak (0.7%), and no significant increase was demonstrated after the outbreak period (0.6%). Due to unusual epidemiological features during this outbreak, a serosurvey was also conducted in rabbits, a potential reservoir host. Out of 675 animals, sampled across Australia between April 2011 and November 2012, 86 (12.7%) were seropositive for WNVKUN, with the highest prevalence during February of 2012 (28/145; 19.3%). As this is the first serological survey for WNVKUN in Australian feral rabbits, it remains to be determined whether wild rabbits are able to develop a high enough viraemia to actively participate in WNV transmission in Australia. However, they may constitute a sentinel species for arbovirus activity, and this is the focus of ongoing studies. Collectively this study provides little evidence of human exposure to WNVKUN during the 2011 outbreak and indicates that the Australian population remains susceptible to the emergence of virulent strains of WNV.
Details
- Title
- The Australian public is still vulnerable to emerging virulent strains of West Nile virus
- Authors
- Natalie A Prow (Author) - The University of QueenslandElise K Hewlett (Author) - The University of QueenslandHelen Faddy (Author) - Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceFlaminia Coiacetto (Author) - The University of QueenslandWenqi Wang (Author)Tarnya Cox (Author) - University of CanberraRoy A Hall (Author) - The University of QueenslandHelle Bielefeldt-Ohmann (Author) - The University of Queensland
- Publication details
- Frontiers in Public Health, Vol.2(SEP), pp.146-146
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A
- Date published
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00146
- ISSN
- 2296-2565
- PMID
- 25279370; PMC4166114
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2014 Prow, Hewlett, Faddy, Coiacetto, Wang, Cox, Hall and Bielefeldt-Ohmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Biomedicine; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99477805002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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