Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Viruses. 2024 Apr 30;16(5):719. doi: 10.3390/v16050719.
West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus spread primarily by mosquitoes, with humans being a dead-end host. WNV was introduced to Florida in 2001, with 467 confirmed cases since. It is estimated that 80 percent of cases are asymptomatic, with mild cases presenting as a non-specific flu-like illness. Currently, detection of WNV in humans occurs primarily in healthcare settings via RT-PCR or CSF IgM when patients present with severe manifestations of disease including fever, meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis. Given the short window of detectable viremia and requirement for CSF sampling, most WNV infections never receive an official diagnosis. This study utilized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect WNV IgG antibodies in 250 patient serum and plasma samples collected at Tampa General Hospital during 2020 and 2021. Plaque reduction neutralization tests were used to confirm ELISA results. Out of the 250 patients included in this study, 18.8% of them were IgG positive, consistent with previous WNV exposure. There was no relationship between WNV exposure and age or sex.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）是一种主要通过蚊子传播的虫媒病毒，人类是其终末宿主。WNV 于 2001 年传入佛罗里达州，自那时以来已有 467 例确诊病例。据估计，80%的病例无症状，轻症病例表现为非特异性流感样疾病。目前，人类 WNV 的检测主要在医疗机构通过 RT-PCR 或 CSF IgM 进行，当患者出现包括发热、脑膜炎、脑炎或急性弛缓性麻痹在内的严重疾病表现时。鉴于可检测到病毒血症的窗口期较短且需要采集 CSF 样本，大多数 WNV 感染从未得到正式诊断。本研究利用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测了 2020 年和 2021 年在坦帕总医院采集的 250 例患者血清和血浆样本中的 WNV IgG 抗体。噬斑减少中和试验用于确认 ELISA 结果。在本研究纳入的 250 例患者中，18.8%的患者 IgG 呈阳性，表明其之前曾接触过 WNV。WNV 暴露与年龄或性别无关。
