Objective: The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in several European countries increases the risk of its introduction to Germany. This study evaluated a new method for WNV surveillance by testing for maternal antibodies in chicken eggs.
Methods: A total of 1,990 eggs were collected in 35 sampling sites in the south-west of Germany and tested for WNV-specific antibodies.
Results: The results did not indicate evidence for WNV circulation in the study area.
Conclusion: This work serves as a proof-of-concept that such a method is useful and a potential alternative to use of sentinel chicken for regular WNV surveillance.
Keywords: Alemania; Allemagne; Germany; West Nile virus; anticorps maternels; anticuerpos maternos; chicken eggs; huevos de gallina; maternal antibodies; surveillance; vigilancia; virus del Nilo Occidental; virus du Nil occidental; œufs de poules.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.