Mansfield Karen L, Parekh Insiyah, Rasmussen Thomas Bruun, Lohse Louise, Olesen Ann Sofie, Dheilly Nolwenn M, Gonzalez Gaëlle, Migné Camille Victoire, Gondard Mathilde, Helle Teheipuaura, Lilja Tobias, Lindahl Johanna F, van der Poel Wim H M, Harders Frank, Bron Gebbiena M, Holwerda Melle
Department of Virology, Vector-Borne Diseases Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Addlestone, Surrey, UK.
Department of Virology and Microbiological Preparedness, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2025 Jun 10;2025:5516160. doi: 10.1155/tbed/5516160. eCollection 2025.
Outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis (JE) can have severe health and economic impacts in both humans and susceptible animal species and are estimated to cause ~68,000 human disease cases in Asia annually. The disease is caused by infection with the mosquito-borne JE virus (JEV), which continues to expand its geographical range from its endemic region in Asia. Since appropriate vertebrate host and mosquito vector species are present in Europe and average European summer temperatures continue to increase, JEV introduction could lead to the establishment of the pathogen in native mosquito species and wild birds and disease outbreaks among humans, pigs, and horses. Incursions could occur through movements of infected pigs and mosquitoes but also via migratory birds that act as reservoirs. Introduction and establishment of JEV in these populations may not be apparent at first, providing time for virus spread before spillover to the human population. Further complicating serological detection of JEV is the extensive cross-reactivity with other orthoflaviviruses circulating in Europe (i.e., tick-borne encephalitis virus [TBEV], West Nile virus [WNV], and Usutu virus [USUV]). In addition, viremia in clinical cases may be short, hindering virus detection. To facilitate European preparedness for detection, surveillance, and monitoring of JEV introduction and spread, five veterinary national reference laboratories in Europe collaborated with the aim to align JEV diagnostic pipelines to prepare for future emergence of JEV in Europe. All institutes assessed established and newly developed serological and molecular assays to build capability with sensitive and specific diagnostic tools for JEV detection. Additionally, methods for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) were established and compared. In summary, this project provides a framework for communication and international collaboration between arboviral researchers at national veterinary institutes. The sharing of knowledge and expertise, and alignment of diagnostic techniques, has facilitated improvement of diagnostic pipelines for JEV detection and contributed to preparedness for JEV introduction into Europe.
日本脑炎（JE）疫情会对人类和易感动物物种造成严重的健康和经济影响，据估计，亚洲每年约有6.8万例人类感染病例。该疾病由蚊媒传播的日本脑炎病毒（JEV）感染引起，其地理范围正不断从亚洲的流行地区向外扩展。由于欧洲存在合适的脊椎动物宿主和蚊媒物种，且欧洲夏季平均气温持续上升，JEV的传入可能导致该病原体在本地蚊种和野生鸟类中定殖，并引发人类、猪和马的疾病暴发。病毒入侵可能通过感染猪和蚊子的移动发生，也可能通过作为病毒宿主的候鸟传播。JEV在这些种群中的引入和定殖最初可能并不明显，从而为病毒传播提供时间，直至溢出到人类群体。JEV血清学检测的进一步复杂性在于它与欧洲流行的其他正黄病毒（即蜱传脑炎病毒[TBEV]、西尼罗河病毒[WNV]和乌苏图病毒[USUV]）存在广泛的交叉反应。此外，临床病例中的病毒血症可能持续时间较短，这也阻碍了病毒检测。为促进欧洲对JEV传入和传播的检测、监测及监控准备工作，欧洲的五个国家兽医参考实验室开展合作，目的是统一JEV诊断流程，为JEV未来在欧洲出现做好准备。所有机构评估了已建立的和新开发的血清学及分子检测方法，以建立使用敏感且特异的诊断工具检测JEV的能力。此外，还建立并比较了全基因组测序（WGS）方法。总之，该项目为国家兽医机构的虫媒病毒研究人员之间的沟通和国际合作提供了一个框架。知识和专业技能的共享以及诊断技术的统一，促进了JEV检测诊断流程的改进，并有助于为JEV传入欧洲做好准备。
