| large human outbreak of west nile virus infection in north-eastern italy in 2012. | human cases of west nile virus (wnv) disease have been reported in italy since 2008. so far, most cases have been identified in north-eastern italy, where, in 2012, the largest outbreak of wnv infection ever recorded in italy occurred. most cases of the 2012 outbreak were identified in the veneto region, where a special surveillance plan for west nile fever was in place. in this outbreak, 25 cases of west nile neuroinvasive disease and 17 cases of fever were confirmed. in addition, 14 wnv rna-po ... | 2013 | 24284876 |
| lack of detection of west nile virus in an islander population of chelonians during a west nile virus outbreak. | in 2011, several outbreaks of west nile disease occurred in sardinia (italy). the region hosts several chelonian species. because of the increasing concern on the potential role that ectotherms may play in the ecology of west nile virus (wnv), in october 2011 blood samples were collected from 41 endemic sardinian chelonians and tested for the presence of active wnv infection or neutralizing antibodies by real time polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) and serumneutralisation, respectively. neither ... | 2016 | 27393879 |
| evaluation of vector competence for west nile virus in italian stegomyia albopicta (=aedes albopictus) mosquitoes. | west nile virus (wnv) is a zoonotic arboviral pathogen transmitted by mosquitoes in a cycle that involves wild birds as reservoir hosts. the virus is responsible for outbreaks of viral encephalitis in humans and horses. in europe, culex pipiens (diptera: culicidae) is considered to be the main vector of wnv, but other species such as stegomyia albopicta (=aedes albopictus) (diptera: culicidae) may also act as competent vectors of this virus. since 2008 human cases of wnv disease have been report ... | 2015 | 26382099 |
| the 2011 west nile disease outbreak in sardinia region, italy. | in 2011, strains of west nile virus (wnv) belonging to lineage 1 spread for the first time in sardinia region (italy). in contrast to previous wnv italian incursion, the strains were found in culex modestus and, more surprisingly, they were able to cause severe clinical signs in the affected birds. based on the partial sequence of the ns3 encoding gene, the sardinian wnv strains demonstrated a high similarity with the other wnv strains recently detected in the mediterranean basin. nonetheless, t ... | 2015 | 25842208 |
| a transitional model for the evaluation of west nile virus transmission in italy. | in august 2008, after 10 years of apparent silence, west nile virus (wnv) infection re-emerged in northern italy, spreading through the territories of three regions. in the following years, new cases occurred in the same area and additional foci of infection were observed in central and southern italy, involving also sicily and sardinia islands. the italian ministry of health ordered to test by rt-pcr all blood and organ donors from 15th june to 15th november of each year in the infected areas. ... | 2016 | 25382294 |
| new incursions of west nile virus lineage 2 in italy in 2013: the value of the entomological surveillance as early warning system. | west nile virus (wnv) is one of the most serious public health threats that europe and the mediterranean countries are currently facing. in italy, wnv emerged in 1998 and has been circulating since 2008. to tackle its continuous incursions, italian national and regional institutions set up a surveillance program, which includes the serological screening of sentinel horses, sentinel-chickens and backyard poultry flocks and the surveillance on all equine neurological cases, resident captured and w ... | 2013 | 24002939 |
| west nile virus lineage 2 in sardinian wild birds in 2012: a further threat to public health. | west nile virus (wnv) strains belonging to lineage 2 were detected and isolated from the tissues of a goshawk and two carrion crows in sardinia in august 2012. according to ns3 sequence analysis, the sardinian isolates shared a high level of similarity with those of italian lineage 2 strains which circulated in 2011 and with the homologous sequence of the 2004 hungarian isolate. following the human fatality reported in 2011 in olbia, this study is the first to report the spread and enzootic circ ... | 2013 | 23343580 |
| west nile virus outbreak in sardinia, italy, in 2011. | west nile virus (wnv) is an enveloped, positive-sense rna virus belonging to the genus flavivirus, antigenically related to the japanese encephalitis complex in the family flaviviridae. the principal vectors are mosquitoes, in particular culex spp, and virus amplification seems to occur in susceptible birds that are the principal vertebrate reservoir hosts, whereas humans, horses and other vertebrates are considered incidental or dead-end hosts. the first italian equine outbreak was reported in ... | 2013 | 23324814 |
| heterogeneity of west nile virus genotype 1a in italy, 2011. | west nile virus (wnv) is currently circulating in several european countries and, over recent decades, concomitantly with enhanced surveillance studies and improved diagnostic capabilities, an increase in the geographical distribution and in the number of cases in europe has been documented. in italy in 2011, 14 human cases of wnv neuroinvasive infections due to lineage 1 strains were registered in several italian regions. here we report wnv partial sequences obtained from serum samples of two p ... | 2013 | 23136369 |
| circulation of west nile virus lineage 1 and 2 during an outbreak in italy. | in 2011, from 26 september to 16 october, a small outbreak of west nile virus (wnv) disease occurred on the island of sardinia (italy). according to the national case definition, six cases with acute neurological disease were confirmed in hospitalized patients, and four of them died; one of these was only 34 years old. in two case, wnv rna was detected in urine, suggesting renal involvement. sequence analysis showed lineage 1 and 2 circulation. | 2012 | 23020657 |
| epidemiological surveillance of west nile neuroinvasive diseases in italy, 2008 to 2011. | we describe the geographical and temporal distribution of west nile neuroinvasive diseases (wnnd) cases in italy from 2008 to 2011. the increasing number of confirmed human cases from eight in 2008 to 18 in 2009 and the occurrence of the virus in a larger geographical area in 2009 (moving from east to west) prompted the ministry of health to publish, in spring 2010, a national programme for wnnd human surveillance, comprising veterinary and vector surveillance. subsequently, in 2011, a new natio ... | 2012 | 22642945 |