Veterinary Department, Ljubljana Zoo, Večna Pot 70, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic.
Viruses. 2021 Apr 6;13(4):626. doi: 10.3390/v13040626.
Monitoring infectious diseases is a crucial part of preventive veterinary medicine in zoological collections. This zoo environment contains a great variety of animal species that are in contact with wildlife species as a potential source of infectious diseases. Wild birds may be a source of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) virus, which are both emerging pathogens of rising concern. The aim of this study was to use zoo animals as sentinels for the early detection of WNV and USUV in Slovenia. In total, 501 sera from 261 animals of 84 animal species (including birds, rodents, lagomorphs, carnivores, ungulates, reptiles, equids, and primates) collected for 17 years (2002-2018) were tested for antibodies to WNV and USUV. Antibodies to WNV were detected by indirect immunofluorescence tests in 16 (6.1%) of 261 animals representing 10 species, which were sampled prior to the first active cases of WNV described in 2018 in Slovenia in humans, a horse, and a hooded crow (). Antibodies to USUV were detected in 14 out of 261 animals tested (5.4%) that were positive prior to the first positive cases of USUV infection in common blackbirds () in Slovenia. The study illustrates the value of zoological collections as a predictor of future emerging diseases.
监测传染病是动物园收藏预防性兽医的重要组成部分。这个动物园环境包含了各种各样的动物物种，它们与野生动物物种接触，这些物种是传染病的潜在来源。野生鸟类可能是西尼罗河病毒（WNV）和乌苏图病毒（USUV）的来源，这两种病毒都是新兴的病原体，引起了人们越来越多的关注。本研究旨在利用动物园动物作为哨兵，提前发现斯洛文尼亚的 WNV 和 USUV。在 17 年（2002-2018 年）期间，共对 261 只动物的 501 份血清进行了检测，这些动物来自 84 个动物物种（包括鸟类、啮齿动物、兔形目动物、食肉动物、有蹄类动物、爬行动物、马科动物和灵长类动物）。采用间接免疫荧光试验检测了针对 WNV 和 USUV 的抗体。在 10 个物种的 261 只动物中检测到了 16 只（6.1%）针对 WNV 的抗体，这些动物在 2018 年斯洛文尼亚首次报告人类、一匹马和一只秃鼻乌鸦（）WNV 活跃病例之前进行了采样。在 261 只检测动物中，有 14 只（5.4%）针对 USUV 的抗体呈阳性，这些动物在斯洛文尼亚首次检测到普通八哥（）感染 USUV 之前就已经呈阳性。该研究说明了动物园收藏作为未来新发疾病预测器的价值。
