Papa A, Anastasiadou A, Delianidou M
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Clinic of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Giannitsa, Greece.
Hippokratia. 2015 Jan-Mar;19(1):34-6.
West Nile virus (WNV) causes to humans a variety of symptoms, from asymptomatic infection to severe neuroinvasive disease. In a previous study, it was shown that WNV IgM antibodies persisted in three of 26 (12%) patients, nine months after onset of the symptoms. The aim of the present study was to test 10 of these patients, three years post-infection for probable persistence of IgM antibodies and to investigate their IgG antibody patterns.
In summer 2013 serum samples were collected from 10 persons who were infected with WNV in 2010; 6 of them had a neuroinvasive disease. The three persons with detectable WNV IgM antibodies, nine months after onset of the symptoms, were included in the study. All samples were tested by ELISA in parallel with their stored paired samples taken in 2011. The positive results were confirmed by neutralization test.
WNV IgM antibodies were still detectable in the three persons, while high levels of WNV IgG and neutralizing antibodies were present in nine of the 10 persons, regardless the involvement of the nervous system.
WNV IgM antibodies persist for more than three years in 12% of patients with WNV infection, while WNV IgG antibodies persist and even increase their levels, regardless the involvement of the nervous system, suggesting that the immune response in the symptomatic WNV infections is strong and long-lasting. Hippokratia 2015, 19 (1): 34-36.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）可使人类出现从无症状感染到严重神经侵袭性疾病等多种症状。在之前的一项研究中，发现26例患者中有3例（12%）在症状出现9个月后，WNV IgM抗体仍持续存在。本研究的目的是对其中10例患者在感染三年后检测其IgM抗体可能的持续情况，并研究其IgG抗体模式。
2013年夏季，采集了2010年感染WNV的10人的血清样本；其中6人患有神经侵袭性疾病。研究纳入了症状出现9个月后可检测到WNV IgM抗体的3人。所有样本均通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）进行检测，并与2011年采集并保存的配对样本同时检测。阳性结果通过中和试验进行确认。
这3人仍可检测到WNV IgM抗体，而10人中有9人存在高水平的WNV IgG和中和抗体，无论是否累及神经系统。
12%的WNV感染患者中，WNV IgM抗体持续存在超过三年，而WNV IgG抗体持续存在甚至水平升高，无论是否累及神经系统，这表明有症状的WNV感染中的免疫反应强烈且持久。《希波克拉底》2015年，第19卷（第1期）：34 - 36页 。
