St. Louis Encephalitis

Abstract

This chapter is about St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) which was isolated for the first time during a human encephalitis outbreak in St. Louis, Missouri United States of America. The chapter informs that most of the cases reported were localized near open storm drains, rain drainage and sewage channels, which worked as Culex mosquitoes breading sites. It says that further ecological studies carried out during a SLEV human encephalitis outbreak in Washington, USA incriminated peridomestics bird species as hosts and Culex mosquitoes as vectors. It says that the virus is carried away through the lymph pathway and is poured to the bloodstream through the thoracic duct, generating a secondary viraemia that transports it to the tissues where occurs viral replication and release to circulation. Among the factors involved in pathogenesis, are age, gender, genetic susceptibility, preexistent infections, or immunity to heterologous agents. The chapter finally says that SLEV is a neglected disease knowing and understanding its eco-epidemiology are of concern.