Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Viruses. 2022 Jun 16;14(6):1319. doi: 10.3390/v14061319.
West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging infectious pathogen circulating between mosquitoes and birds but also infecting mammals. WNV has become autochthonous in Germany, causing striking mortality rates in avifauna and occasional diseases in humans and horses. We therefore wanted to assess the possible role of free-ranging poultry in the WNV transmission cycle and infected 15 goslings with WNV lineage 2 (German isolate). The geese were monitored daily and sampled regularly to determine viremia, viral shedding, and antibody development by molecular and serological methods. Geese were euthanized at various time points post-infection (pi). All infected geese developed variable degrees of viremia from day 1 to day 10 (maximum) and actively shed virus from days 2 to 7 post-infection. Depending on the time of death, the WN viral genome was detected in all examined tissue samples in at least one individual by RT-qPCR and viable virus was even re-isolated, except for in the liver. Pathomorphological lesions as well as immunohistochemically detectable viral antigens were found mainly in the brain. Furthermore, all of the geese seroconverted 6 days pi at the latest. In conclusion, geese are presumably not functioning as important amplifying hosts but are suitable sentinel animals for WNV surveillance.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）是一种在蚊子和鸟类之间传播的新兴传染病原体，但也感染哺乳动物。WNV 在德国已经成为地方性疾病，导致禽类死亡率显著上升，偶尔也会感染人类和马匹。因此，我们想评估自由放养家禽在 WNV 传播循环中的可能作用，并使用 WNV 谱系 2（德国分离株）感染 15 只鹅。每天监测鹅并定期采样，通过分子和血清学方法确定病毒血症、病毒脱落和抗体产生情况。感染后不同时间点对鹅进行安乐死（pi）。所有感染的鹅在第 1 天至第 10 天（最高）出现不同程度的病毒血症，并在感染后第 2 天至第 7 天主动排毒。根据死亡时间，通过 RT-qPCR 在至少一个个体的所有检查组织样本中检测到 WN 病毒基因组，并且除肝脏外，还能重新分离出活病毒。在大脑中主要发现了病理形态病变和免疫组化可检测到的病毒抗原。此外，所有鹅在感染后 6 天内最晚出现血清转化。总之，鹅可能不是重要的扩增宿主，但适合作为 WNV 监测的哨兵动物。
