Article
Serological Evidence of Exposure to Saint Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Viruses in Horses of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Registro en:
CHALHOUB, Flávia Löwen Levy et al. Serological Evidence of Exposure to Saint Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Viruses in Horses of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Viruses. v. 14, 2459, p. 1 - 19, Nov. 2022.
1999-4915
10.3390/v14112459
Autor
Chalhoub, Flávia Löwen Levy
Horta, Marco Aurélio Pereira
Alcantara, Luiz Carlos Junior
Morales, Alejandra
Santos, Lilha Maria Barbosa dos
Campos, Vinícius Guerra
Rodrigues, Cintia D.S.
Santos, Carolina C.
Mares-Guia, Maria Angélica M.
Pauvolid-Corrêa, Alex
Filippis, Ana Maria Bispo de
Resumen
Infections with arboviruses are reported worldwide. Saint Louis encephalitis (SLEV) and
West Nile (WNV) viruses are closely related flaviviruses affecting humans and animals. SLEV has
been sporadically detected in humans, and corresponding antibodies have been frequently detected
in horses throughout Brazil. WNV was first reported in western Brazil over a decade ago, has been
associated with neurological disorders in humans and equines and its prevalence is increasing nationwide.
Herein, we investigated by molecular and serological methods the presence of SLEV and
WNV in equines from Rio de Janeiro. A total of 435 serum samples were collected from healthy
horses and tested for specific neutralizing antibodies by plaque reduction neutralization test
(PRNT90). Additionally, samples (serum, cerebrospinal fluid, central nervous system tissue) from
72 horses, including horses with neurological disorders resulting in a fatal outcome or horses which
had contact with them, were tested by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction
(RT-qPCR) for both viruses. Adopting the criterion of four-fold antibody titer difference, 165 horses
(38%) presented neutralizing antibodies for flaviviruses, 89 (20.4%) for SLEV and five (1.1%) for
WNV. No evidence of SLEV and WNV infection was detected by RT-qPCR and, thus, such infection
could not be confirmed in the additional samples. Our findings indicate horses of Rio de Janeiro
were exposed to SLEV and WNV, contributing to the current knowledge on the distribution of these
viruses in Brazil.
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