Seroprevalence of Flavivirus in horses in Chaco, Argentina. Circulation during 2013-2014

GRISELDA I. ORIA; LORENA SPINSANTI; VERONICA PIROTA; MARIA FLORENCIA MARTÍNEZ; ORNELA STECHINA; EDUARDO ETCHEPARE; MARTA CONTIGIANI; MARINA STEIN

REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE MEDICINA VETERINARIA

SOC MEDICINA VETERINARIA ESTADO RIO DE JANEIRO

Lugar: SOC MEDICINA VETERINARIA ESTADO RIO DE JANEIRO; Año: 2018

0100-2430

Flaviviruses are responsible for several emerging mosquito-borne diseases in Argentina and in the Americas. Some of these diseases are zoonoses (disease shared between humans and vertebrate animals) and were detected in recent years: West Nile virus (WNV) and Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) among them. WNV originated in Africa was detected for the first time in America in 1999 and it was first isolated from diseased and dead horses in 2006 in Argentina. Neutralizing antibodies from wild birds, humans and horses have been also detected (Diaz et al. 2008; Oria et al. 2012; Tauro et al. 2012). SLEV re-emerged as a human pathogen in Argentina in 2002 with the first epidemic in 2005. During this outbreak viral strains were isolated from Culex mosquitoes and several studies have detectedneutralizing antibodies from birds, human and horses, in the last ten years.The aim of this work is to provide information on the activity of the flavivirus SLEV and WNV, identifying the infection in horses in three localities of the province of Chaco. From May 2013 to May 2014, serological surveys from 68 asymptomatic horses were conducted. Antibodies against SLEV (25 %) and WNV (8.82%) were detected in all the studied area. This is the first report of WNV circulation in equines from Chaco province and circulation of both viruses during the study period was demonstrated.