Department of Microbiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Department of Dynamic Tectonic Applied Geology, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Feb;100(2):420-426. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0339.
Greece experienced the largest European West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in 2010 since the 1996 Romania epidemic. West Nile virus reemerged in southern Greece during 2017, after a 2-year hiatus of recorded human cases, and herein laboratory findings, clinical features, and geographic distribution of WNV cases are presented. Clinical specimens from patients with clinically suspected WNV infection were sent from local hospitals to the Microbiology Department of Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and were tested for the presence of specific anti-WNV antibodies and WNV RNA. From July to September 2017, 45 confirmed or probable WNV infection cases were identified; 43 of them with an acute/recent infection, of which 24 (55.8%) experienced WNV neuroinvasive disease (WNND). Risk factors for developing WNND included advanced age, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. A total of four deaths (16.7%) occurred, all in elderly patients aged > 70 years. Thirty-nine cases were identified in regional units that had not been affected before (36 in Argolis and two in Corinth, northeastern Peloponnese, and one in Rethymno, Crete). The remaining four cases were reported from previously affected regional units of northwestern Peloponnese. The reemergence of WNV after a 2-year hiatus of recorded human cases and the spread of the virus in newly affected regions of the country suggests that WNV has been established in Greece and disease transmission will continue in the future. Epidemiological surveillance, intensive mosquito management programs, and public awareness campaigns about personal protective measures are crucial to the prevention of WNV transmission.
希腊在 2010 年经历了自 1996 年罗马尼亚疫情以来欧洲最大的西尼罗河病毒 (WNV) 爆发。2017 年，在两年没有记录到人类病例后，WNV 再次出现在希腊南部，本文介绍了该病毒的实验室发现、临床特征和地理分布。来自临床怀疑患有 WNV 感染的患者的临床标本从当地医院送到雅典国立卡波迪斯特里亚大学医学院的微生物学系，并对特异性抗 WNV 抗体和 WNV RNA 的存在进行了检测。2017 年 7 月至 9 月，共发现 45 例确诊或疑似 WNV 感染病例；其中 43 例为急性/近期感染，其中 24 例（55.8%）患有 WNV 神经侵袭性疾病（WNND）。发生 WNND 的危险因素包括年龄较大、高血压和糖尿病。共有 4 例（16.7%）死亡，均为年龄大于 70 岁的老年患者。39 例发生在以前未受影响的地区单位（Argolis 区 36 例，伯罗奔尼撒半岛东北部 Corinth 区 2 例，克里特岛 Rethymno 区 1 例）。其余 4 例来自以前受影响的伯罗奔尼撒半岛西北部地区单位。在两年没有记录到人类病例后，WNV 的再次出现以及该病毒在该国新受影响地区的传播表明，WNV 已在希腊立足，未来疾病传播将持续。流行病学监测、密集的蚊虫管理计划以及关于个人保护措施的公众意识运动对于预防 WNV 传播至关重要。
