Hachid A, Beloufa M A, Seghier M, Bahoura N, Dia M, Fall G, Sall A A
Département de Virologie Humaine, Institut Pasteur d'Algérie, Algeria.
Faculté de medecine d'Alger, Algerie.
New Microbes New Infect. 2019 Mar 8;29:100512. doi: 10.1016/j.nmni.2019.01.008. eCollection 2019 May.
West Nile Virus (WNV) is the most widely distributed flavivirus worldwide. It is a mosquito-borne virus, and birds constitute its natural reservoir. Humans and equines are considered accidental hosts. Human WNV infections are usually asymptomatic or express as a mild febrile syndrome; however, in around 1% of cases they are responsible for more serious neurological diseases with a potentially lethal outcome. In the Mediterranean basin the virus circulation is regarded as endemic. Outbreaks of WNV meningoencephalitis are regularly notified, especially during summer and autumn seasons. In Algeria, although some surveys have reported WNV activity in the Sahara, to date few data are available about virus circulation in the northern part of the country. We conducted this study to detect possible WNV activity in this part of Algeria. For this purpose, in 2010 a total of 164 human sera were collected from native patients of the Algiers district and surrounding areas, then tested retrospectively for IgG anti-WNV by ELISA. Plaque reduction neutralization technique (PRNT) was used for result confirmation. In this cohort, 9.8% of the 164 collected sera returned positive for anti-WNV IgG; after confirmation by PRNT; 6.7% had specific neutralizing antibodies. No statistically significant difference was observed according to the sex or transfusion status of the patients. In conclusion, these data show for the first time serological evidence of WNV circulation in Algiers and its surrounding areas. They also highlight the need for implementing an integrated surveillance programme covering all aspects of WNV disease in order to better understand the circulation dynamics of WNV in this region. Other flaviviruses antigenically related to WNV should be investigated, given the evidence of serological cross-reaction, as specific IgG antibodies decrease after PRNT confirmation.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）是全球分布最广泛的黄病毒。它是一种由蚊子传播的病毒，鸟类是其天然宿主。人类和马被视为意外宿主。人类感染西尼罗河病毒通常无症状或表现为轻度发热综合征；然而，在约1%的病例中，会引发更严重的神经系统疾病，可能导致致命后果。在地中海盆地，该病毒的传播被视为地方病。西尼罗河病毒性脑膜脑炎的疫情经常被通报，尤其是在夏季和秋季。在阿尔及利亚，尽管一些调查报道了撒哈拉地区存在西尼罗河病毒活动，但迄今为止，该国北部地区病毒传播的数据很少。我们开展这项研究以检测阿尔及利亚这一地区可能存在的西尼罗河病毒活动。为此，2010年从阿尔及尔地区及周边地区的当地患者中总共采集了164份人血清，然后通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）对IgG抗西尼罗河病毒进行回顾性检测。采用空斑减少中和技术（PRNT）进行结果确认。在这个队列中，164份采集的血清中有9.8%的抗西尼罗河病毒IgG呈阳性；经PRNT确认后，6.7%有特异性中和抗体。根据患者的性别或输血状态未观察到统计学上的显著差异。总之，这些数据首次显示了西尼罗河病毒在阿尔及尔及其周边地区传播的血清学证据。它们还强调需要实施涵盖西尼罗河病毒病各个方面的综合监测计划，以便更好地了解该地区西尼罗河病毒的传播动态。鉴于血清学交叉反应的证据，鉴于PRNT确认后特异性IgG抗体减少，应调查与西尼罗河病毒抗原相关的其他黄病毒。
