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Rusenova N, Rusenov A, Chervenkov M, Sirakov I. Seroprevalence of West Nile Virus among Equids in Bulgaria in 2022 and Assessment of Some Risk Factors. Vet Sci 2024; 11:209. [PMID: 38787181 PMCID: PMC11126025 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci11050209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) among equids in Bulgaria, confirm the results of a competitive ELISA versus the virus neutralization test (VNT) and investigate some predisposing factors for WNV seropositivity. A total of 378 serum samples from 15 provinces in northern and southern Bulgaria were tested. The samples originated from 314 horses and 64 donkeys, 135 males and 243 females, aged from 1 to 30 years. IgG and IgM antibodies against WNV protein E were detected by ELISA. ELISA-positive samples were additionally tested via VNT for WNV and Usutu virus. Thirty-five samples were WNV-positive by ELISA (9.26% [CI = 6.45-12.88]), of which 15 were confirmed by VNT; hence, the seroprevalence was 3.97% (CI = 2.22-6.55). No virus-neutralizing antibodies to Usutu virus were detected among the 35 WNV-ELISA-positive equids in Bulgaria. When compared with VNT, ELISA showed 100.0% sensitivity and 94.5% specificity. A statistical analysis showed that the risk factors associated with WNV seropositivity were the region (p < 0.0001), altitude of the locality (p < 0.0001), type of housing (p < 0.0001) and breed (p = 0.0365). The results of the study demonstrate, albeit indirectly, that WNV circulates among equids in northern and southern Bulgaria, indicating that they could be suitable sentinel animals for predicting human cases and determining the risk in these areas or regions of the country.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolina Rusenova
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, 6000 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
| | - Anton Rusenov
- Department of Internal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, 6000 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria;
| | - Mihail Chervenkov
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria;
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Ivo Sirakov
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University-Sofia, 2 Zdrave Str., 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria;
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de Wit MM, Dimas Martins A, Delecroix C, Heesterbeek H, ten Bosch QA. Mechanistic models for West Nile virus transmission: a systematic review of features, aims and parametrization. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232432. [PMID: 38471554 PMCID: PMC10932716 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Mathematical models within the Ross-Macdonald framework increasingly play a role in our understanding of vector-borne disease dynamics and as tools for assessing scenarios to respond to emerging threats. These threats are typically characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity, introducing a range of possible complexities in models and challenges to maintain the link with empirical evidence. We systematically identified and analysed a total of 77 published papers presenting compartmental West Nile virus (WNV) models that use parameter values derived from empirical studies. Using a set of 15 criteria, we measured the dissimilarity compared with the Ross-Macdonald framework. We also retrieved the purpose and type of models and traced the empirical sources of their parameters. Our review highlights the increasing refinements in WNV models. Models for prediction included the highest number of refinements. We found uneven distributions of refinements and of evidence for parameter values. We identified several challenges in parametrizing such increasingly complex models. For parameters common to most models, we also synthesize the empirical evidence for their values and ranges. The study highlights the potential to improve the quality of WNV models and their applicability for policy by establishing closer collaboration between mathematical modelling and empirical work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariken M. de Wit
- Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Afonso Dimas Martins
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Clara Delecroix
- Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Heesterbeek
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Quirine A. ten Bosch
- Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Rengifo-Correa L, Rodríguez-Moreno Á, Becker I, Falcón-Lezama JA, Tapia-Conyer R, Sánchez-Montes S, Suzán G, Stephens CR, González-Salazar C. Risk of a vector-borne endemic zoonosis for wildlife: Hosts, large-scale geography, and diversity of vector-host interactions for Trypanosoma cruzi. Acta Trop 2024; 251:107117. [PMID: 38184291 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Drivers for wildlife infection are multiple and complex, particularly for vector-borne diseases. Here, we studied the role of host competence, geographic area provenance, and diversity of vector-host interactions as drivers of wild mammal infection risk to Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease. We performed a systematic sampling of wild mammals in 11 states of Mexico, from 2017 to 2018. We tested the positivity of T. cruzi with the Tc24 marker in tissues samples for 61 wild mammal species (524 specimens sampled). 26 mammal species were positive for T. cruzi, of which 11 are new hosts recorded in Mexico 75 specimens were positive and 449 were negative for T. cruzi infection, yielding an overall prevalence of 14.3%. The standardized infection risk of T. cruzi of our examined specimens was similar, no matter the host species or their geographic origins. Additionally, we used published data of mammal positives for T. cruzi to complement records of T. cruzi infection in wild mammals and inferred a trophic network of Triatoma spp. (vectors) and wild mammal species in Mexico, using spatial data-mining modelling. Infection with T. cruzi was not homogeneously distributed in the inferred trophic network. This information allowed us to develop a predictive model for T. cruzi infection risk for wild mammals in Mexico, considering risk as a function of the diversity of vector-host spatial associations in a large-scale geographic context, finding that the addition of competent vectors to a multi-host parasite system amplifies host infection risk. The diversity of vector-host interactions per se constitutes a relevant driver of infection risk because hosts and vectors are not isolated from each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Rengifo-Correa
- C3-Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; Centro de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales - CINTROP, Facultad de Salud, Escuela de Medicina, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Santander, Colombia
| | - Ángel Rodríguez-Moreno
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Jorge Abelardo Falcón-Lezama
- División Académica de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
| | - Roberto Tapia-Conyer
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias Región Poza Rica-Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano 92870, Mexico
| | - Gerardo Suzán
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Christopher R Stephens
- C3-Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; ICN-Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Constantino González-Salazar
- ICAyCC-Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
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