Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus.

PISANO MB,; CONTIGIANI MS.; RÉ VE

Molecular Detection of Animal Viral Pathogens

CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group

Lugar: Boca Raton; Año: 2016; p. 269 - 277

VEEVs cause human and equine diseases throughout theUnited States, with symptoms ranging from mild illnessto encephalitis and death, in addition to a high proportionof subclinical cases. Clinically, VEE is indistinguishablefrom dengue fever and other arboviral diseases, and confirmatorydiagnosis is required with the use of specializedlaboratory tests. The disease burden of endemic VEE indeveloping countries remains largely unknown [2]. Thepotential emergence of epizootic viruses from enzooticprogenitors highlights the need to strengthen surveillanceactivities, as well as employ fast and sensitive techniquesfor viral detection.Diagnosis of acute VEEV infection can be done by detectionof viral antigens or nucleic acids or by virus isolation.These techniques are only successful if the blood or CSF iscollected during the viremic phase of infection, which lastsfor 3?5 days. Detection of RNA by RT-nested PCR is a fast,sensitive, and specific alternative for diagnosis of VEE acuteinfection and can also be useful as a surveillance method.Real-time PCR is another alternative for VEEV detection,using either SYBR Green reagent or specific probes. Thistechnique has the advantages of requiring less processingtime than a conventional PCR, and being highly sensitiveand reproducible. Furthermore, it can be used for viral quantification,which is essential for determining the amount of virus ininfected hosts and mosquitoes, with the goal to evaluate virustransmission.