Bruno Luigi, Nappo Maria Anna, Frontoso Raffaele, Perrotta Maria Gabriella, Di Lecce Rosanna, Guarnieri Chiara, Ferrari Luca, Corradi Attilio
Department of Prevention, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (A.S.L.) Napoli 3 Sud, Castellammare di Stabia, 80053 Naples, Italy.
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno (I.Z.S.M.), Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy.
Vet Sci. 2025 Mar 19;12(3):288. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12030288.
West Nile virus (WNV) is an important zoonotic pathogen belonging to the Flaviviridae family, which is endemic in some areas and emerging in others. WNV is transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes of the genus Culicoides, Aedes, and Anopheles, and the infection can cause different clinical symptoms. The most common and benign illness in humans is West Nile fever (WNF), but a lethal neurological disease (WNND), related to the neuro-invasiveness of WNV lineage 2, represents the highest health risk of WNV infection. The neuro-clinical form is recognized in mammals (land and cetaceans), particularly in humans (elderly or immunosuppressed) and in horses, avian species, and wildlife animals ranging free or in a zoological setting. This review highlights the most relevant data regarding epidemiology, virology, pathogenesis and immunity, clinical signs and differential diagnosis, pathology and imaging, histopathology and gross pathology, economic impact, influence of climate change, and surveillance of WNV. Climate change has favored the wide spread of WNV in many areas of the globe and consequent One-Health and Eco-Health emergencies, influencing the health of human beings, animals, and ecosystems.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）是一种重要的人畜共患病原体，属于黄病毒科，在一些地区呈地方性流行，在其他地区则不断出现。WNV通过库蠓属、伊蚊属和按蚊属的吸血蚊子传播，感染可导致不同的临床症状。人类最常见且症状较轻的疾病是西尼罗河热（WNF），但与WNV 2型神经侵袭性相关的致命性神经疾病（WNND）是WNV感染的最高健康风险。这种神经临床形式在哺乳动物（陆地动物和鲸类动物）中被识别出来，特别是在人类（老年人或免疫抑制者）、马匹、鸟类以及自由放养或在动物园环境中的野生动物中。本综述重点介绍了有关WNV的流行病学、病毒学、发病机制与免疫、临床症状与鉴别诊断、病理学与影像学、组织病理学与大体病理学、经济影响、气候变化的影响以及监测等方面的最相关数据。气候变化促使WNV在全球许多地区广泛传播，进而引发了“同一健康”和“生态健康”紧急情况，影响着人类、动物和生态系统的健康。
