Short report: serological evidence of West Nile virus activity in El Salvador

Lilian Cruz; Victor M Cardenas; Mauricio Abarca; Tito Rodriguez; Roberto Flores Reyna; Mario V Serpas; Robert E Fontaine; David W C Beasley; Amelia P A Travassos Da Rosa; Scott C Weaver; Robert B Tesh; Ann M Powers; Gloria Suarez-Rangel

Short report: serological evidence of West Nile virus activity in El Salvador

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2005 May;72(5):612-5.

Authors

Lilian Cruz¹, Victor M Cardenas, Mauricio Abarca, Tito Rodriguez, Roberto Flores Reyna, Mario V Serpas, Robert E Fontaine, David W C Beasley, Amelia P A Travassos Da Rosa, Scott C Weaver, Robert B Tesh, Ann M Powers, Gloria Suarez-Rangel

Affiliation

¹ Field Epidemiology Training Program, Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, San Salvador, El Salvador.

PMID: 15891137

Abstract

Epizootics of encephalitis in El Salvador killed 203 equines between November 2001 and April 2003. During an investigation of the outbreaks, 18 (25%) of 73 serum samples collected from stablemates of deceased animals in 2003 had antibodies to West Nile virus. Ten of these infections were confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization tests, suggesting West Nile virus has extended its range and spread to Central America.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Disease Outbreaks / veterinary*
El Salvador / epidemiology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
Horse Diseases / epidemiology
Horse Diseases / virology*
Horses
Humans
Seasons
West Nile Fever / epidemiology
West Nile Fever / veterinary*

Grants and funding

N01-AI25489/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States