Instituto de Virología, CICVyA, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Buenos Aires B1686, Argentina.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad de Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina.
Viruses. 2024 Oct 10;16(10):1594. doi: 10.3390/v16101594.
Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) is a mosquito-borne arbovirus (genus , family ) that has re-emerged in South America in late 2023, causing severe disease in both horses and humans after a nearly 40-year intermission period. We here describe the virological, serological, pathological, and molecular features of WEEV infection in horses during the 2023-2024 outbreak in Argentina. WEEV-infected horses developed neurological signs with mild to severe encephalitis associated with minimal to abundant WEEV-infected cells, as demonstrated by WEEV-specific in situ hybridization. The distribution of viral RNA was multifocal, with predominance within neuronal bodies, neuronal processes, and glial cells in the medulla oblongata and thalamic regions. Phylogenetic analysis of partial nsP4 sequences from three viral isolates obtained from three different provinces of Argentina support grouping with other temporally current WEEV strains from Uruguay and Brazil under a recently proposed novel lineage.
西部马脑炎病毒（WEEV）是一种蚊媒传播的虫媒病毒（属，科），在 2023 年末于南美洲重新出现，在近 40 年的间歇期后，导致马和人类出现严重疾病。我们在此描述了阿根廷 2023-2024 年疫情期间马感染 WEEV 的病毒学、血清学、病理学和分子特征。感染 WEEV 的马出现了神经症状，伴有轻度至重度脑炎，与 WEEV 感染细胞的少量至大量有关，这是通过 WEEV 特异性原位杂交证明的。病毒 RNA 的分布呈多灶性，在延髓和丘脑区域，以神经元体、神经元突起和神经胶质细胞内为主。从阿根廷三个不同省份获得的三个病毒分离株的部分 nsP4 序列的系统发育分析支持与乌拉圭和巴西的其他当前时间的 WEEV 株在最近提出的一个新谱系下分组。
