West Nile Virus an Upcoming Threat From the South of Europe

West nile Virus (WnV) is an emergent pathogen of different species including horses and humans as incidental hosts. Horses are particularly susceptible to West nile virus (WnV) infection showing clinical signs of acute encephalomyelitis, such as ataxia, rear limb paresis, muscle tremors and fasciculation, and recumbency. although 80% of affected horses recovers in 3–4 weeks, a small proportion may suffer from persistent neurological deficiency. the disease can also follow a fatal course and the mortality rate in recumbent horses can reach up to 60%. in the past few years WnV became endemic in Southern European countries from Greece to Spain(1,2).

In Croatia, between 2010 and 2012, seroprevalence of WnV infection in horses, on a state level, was 3.43%. Seroprevalence was declining from the eastern to the western part of the country during the years 2010 and 2011, which clearly illustrates the rapid spread(3).

During 2012, 1472 equine serum samples were collected from randomly selected healthy horses with no signs of clinical disease reported in the last 6 months. animals were from six Croatian counties with the highest seroprevalence of WnV infection in 2010 and 2011. all samples were evaluated for igG and igM antibodies to West nile virus (WnV) by commercial ELiSa tests (West nile Competition Screening test; iD Screen® West nile igM Capture, iD.VEt, Montpellier, france). [...]