Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
Department of Internal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2024 May;24(5):274-277. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2023.0095. Epub 2024 Jan 30.
West Nile virus (WNV) infection, caused by a flavivirus, emerged in Europe and America in the past two decades. The etiological agent causes asymptomatic to life-threatening infection in humans and in some animal species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of WNV among donkeys and mules in Bulgaria. A total of 200 archived serum samples were tested by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive samples were additionally analyzed by virus neutralization assay. Seroprevalence of 7% (14/200) was established among tested animals by ELISA. Two samples were subsequently verified for the presence of virus neutralizing antibodies; thus, the seroprevalence against WNV was determined to be 1% (2/200 [confidence interval = 0.12-3.61]). Positive results among mules included in the study were not found. The findings in the present research demonstrate that donkeys are exposed to WNV infection and seroconvert, which adds to the understanding of virus circulation among donkeys in settlements in north and south Bulgaria.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）感染是由黄病毒引起的，在过去二十年中出现在欧洲和美洲。病原体在人类和一些动物物种中引起从无症状到危及生命的感染。本研究的目的是评估保加利亚驴和骡子中 WNV 的血清流行率。共检测了 200 份存档血清样本，采用竞争酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）进行检测。通过病毒中和试验对阳性样本进行了进一步分析。ELISA 检测结果显示，200 份检测样本中有 7%（14/200）呈阳性。随后对两份样本进行了病毒中和抗体的检测，因此，WNV 的血清阳性率确定为 1%（2/200[置信区间=0.12-3.61]）。在研究中包含的骡子中未发现阳性结果。本研究的结果表明，驴易受 WNV 感染并发生血清转化，这增加了对保加利亚北部和南部定居点中病毒在驴中传播的了解。
