Most reports from the United States suggest Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes feed minimally on humans. Given the abundance of C. quinquefasciatus in residential Tucson and parts of metropolitan Phoenix, and the arrival of West Nile virus to this area, discovering the blood meal hosts of the local population is important. Using a sandwich ELISA technique, the local C. quinquefasciatus were foun...

In order to laboratory confirm the first suspected West Nile fever case in 2013 in northern Greece, a combination of serological molecular and culture methods were applied. It was shown that the causative West Nile virus strain belonged to lineage 2, and possessed the amino acid substitution H249P in the NS3 protein, as in previous years. The significance of this specific strain in Europe remai...

Between 16 July and 21 August 2011, 31 cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease were reported from four regions in Greece. Of these, 17 occurred in districts that had not been affected in 2010. The reoccurrence of human cases in two consecutive years (following the large 2010 outbreak) and the spread of the virus in new areas suggest that West Nile virus is established in Greece, and its transm...

Using a panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, we have mapped epitopes in domain III of the envelope protein of the New York strain of West Nile virus. The ability of monoclonal antibodies that recognize these epitopes to neutralize virus appeared to differ between lineage I and II West Nile virus strains, and epitopes were located on the upper surface of domain III at residues E307, E330...

Introduction The Nile River the longest river in the world has been serving as a source of life to the people living in its basin for centuries. Throughout the course of history, the Nile has supported livelihoods and played a considerable role in enriching diverse cultures within its basin. Hence, the Nile has been the centre of attention of explorers, tourists, researchers and historians for ...

West Nile virus (WNV) is an avian virus that can cause fatal disease in some species of mammals, reptiles and birds. Most clinical cases occur in humans and horses. Approximately 80% of infected humans remain asymptomatic; 20% have flulike symptoms. Less than 1% develop meningitis, encephalitis or acute paralysis, but some of these cases are fatal or result in permanent impairment. Neurological...

A total of 57 cases of West Nile virus infection (54 with neuroinvasive infection and three with fever) were identified in Romania between July and October 2010.The median age of the cases was 53.4 years, with the highest incidence in the age group 60–69 years.The case fatality rate was 8.8%. Cases were distributed in 19 districts in the southern, western, central and eastern parts of the count...

Malaria remains a major killer with more than 1 million deaths each year in sub-Saharan Africa alone while yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus, encephalitis and filariasis continue to have an impact on populations worldwide. The Anopheles strains of mosquitoes are largely responsible for the transmission of Plasmodium or malaria, the Culex tarsalis accounts largely for West Nile virus, ...

The outbreak of human arboviral encephalitis attributable to a mosquito-transmitted West Nile-like virus (WNLV) continues to wane in the Northeast. As of October 5, the number of laboratory-positive cases had increased to 50 (27 confirmed and 23 probable), including five deaths. The increase in cases is mainly a result of completed retesting with West Nile virus antigen of specimens previously ...

A case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection was reported in the Algarve region, Portugal, in the first week of September 2015. WNV is known to circulate in Portugal, with occasional reports in horses and birds (2004 to 2011) and very sporadically human cases (in 2004 and in 2010). Here we present the clinical and laboratory aspects related to the first human case of West Nile neuroinvasive diseas...