Spiez Laboratory, Federal Office for Civil Protection, Austrasse, Spiez 3700, Switzerland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Oct 11;10(10):4869-95. doi: 10.3390/ijerph10104869.
A wide range of arthropod-borne viruses threaten both human and animal health either through their presence in Europe or through risk of introduction. Prominent among these is West Nile virus (WNV), primarily an avian virus, which has caused multiple outbreaks associated with human and equine mortality. Endemic outbreaks of West Nile fever have been reported in Italy, Greece, France, Romania, Hungary, Russia and Spain, with further spread expected. Most outbreaks in Western Europe have been due to infection with WNV Lineage 1. In Eastern Europe WNV Lineage 2 has been responsible for human and bird mortality, particularly in Greece, which has experienced extensive outbreaks over three consecutive years. Italy has experienced co-circulation with both virus lineages. The ability to manage this threat in a cost-effective way is dependent on early detection. Targeted surveillance for pathogens within mosquito populations offers the ability to detect viruses prior to their emergence in livestock, equine species or human populations. In addition, it can establish a baseline of mosquito-borne virus activity and allow monitoring of change to this over time. Early detection offers the opportunity to raise disease awareness, initiate vector control and preventative vaccination, now available for horses, and encourage personal protection against mosquito bites. This would have major benefits through financial savings and reduction in equid morbidity/mortality. However, effective surveillance that predicts virus outbreaks is challenged by a range of factors including limited resources, variation in mosquito capture rates (too few or too many), difficulties in mosquito identification, often reliant on specialist entomologists, and the sensitive, rapid detection of viruses in mosquito pools. Surveillance for WNV and other arboviruses within mosquito populations varies between European countries in the extent and focus of the surveillance. This study reviews the current status of WNV in mosquito populations across Europe and how this is informing our understanding of virus epidemiology. Key findings such as detection of virus, presence of vector species and invasive mosquito species are summarized, and some of the difficulties encountered when applying a cost-effective surveillance programme are highlighted.
多种节肢动物传播的病毒通过在欧洲的存在或通过引入的风险威胁人类和动物的健康。其中突出的是西尼罗河病毒（WNV），主要是一种禽病毒，已导致多起与人类和马死亡率相关的暴发。意大利、希腊、法国、罗马尼亚、匈牙利、俄罗斯和西班牙已报告西尼罗河热地方性暴发，预计还会进一步扩散。西欧的大多数暴发是由WNV 谱系 1 感染引起的。在东欧，WNV 谱系 2 导致人类和鸟类死亡，特别是在希腊，希腊连续三年发生了广泛的暴发。意大利经历了两种病毒谱系的共同流行。以具有成本效益的方式管理这一威胁的能力取决于早期检测。在蚊子种群中针对病原体的靶向监测提供了在牲畜、马科动物或人群中出现病毒之前检测病毒的能力。此外，它可以建立蚊子传播病毒活动的基线，并允许随时间监测其变化。早期检测为提高疾病意识、启动病媒控制和预防性疫苗接种（现在可用于马）以及鼓励个人预防蚊子叮咬提供了机会。这将通过节省资金和减少马科动物发病率/死亡率带来重大益处。然而，通过一系列因素，包括资源有限、蚊子捕获率的变化（太少或太多）、蚊子鉴定困难（通常依赖于昆虫学家）以及蚊子种群中病毒的敏感、快速检测，预测病毒暴发的有效监测受到了挑战。欧洲各国对蚊子种群中的 WNV 和其他虫媒病毒的监测在监测的范围和重点上有所不同。本研究回顾了欧洲各地蚊子种群中 WNV 的现状，以及这如何影响我们对病毒流行病学的理解。总结了诸如病毒检测、媒介物种存在和入侵蚊子物种等关键发现，并强调了在应用具有成本效益的监测计划时遇到的一些困难。
