West Nile virus infection in South-eastern Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean area

Batı Nil virus (WNV) etkeni ilk olarak Uganda’da 1937 yılında identifiye edilmiştir. Bu virus 1950 yıllarının başında Mısır’da yaptığı salgınla birlikte Akdeniz bölgesinde kendini göstermiştir. O tarihten itibaren WNV özellikle Kuzey Afrika ve Orta-Doğu bölgesinde insan ve/veya atlarda birtakım salgınlara sebep olmuştur. Son bir kaç dekad içerisinde ise WNV-lineage 1 Güney Doğu ve Doğu Avrupa’da Batı Nil Virüs ateşi ve nöroinvazif hastalık şeklinde bir takım sporadik vakalar ve salgınlara sebep olmaya başlamıştır. Romanya’da 1997 yılında büyük bir salgın yaşanmış olup orta ve güney Avrupa’da yıllardır rapor edilmeye devam etmiştir. Son olarak 2010 yılından itibaren, Batı Nil Virüs enfeksiyonları Avrupa ve Akdeniz ülkelerinde yeniden önem kazanmıştır. Moleküler epidemiyoloji çalışmaları birçok Avrupa ülkesinde “WNV lineage 1 ve lineage 2’nin varlığını göstermiştir. Özellikle, WNV lineage 2’nin Güney doğu Avrupa ve Balkan ülkelerinde günümüzde dolaşmakta olduğu gözükmektedir. Bu WNV’nin sürekli olarak bu coğrafik bölgelerde yeniden önem kazandığını düşündürmektedir. Spesifik olarak, iki WNV türünün batı ve doğu yollarını takiben kuş göçleriyle birlikte tüm Avrupa’ya dağılmaktadır. Doğu hattı boyunca gerçekleşen kuş göçlerinin Güney doğu Avrupa’da önemli bir halk sağlığı problemi haline gelen WNV enfeksiyonlarının ortaya çıkması ve yeniden önem kazanmasında muhtemelen rol oynadığı değerlendirilmektedir

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Batı Nil virus infeksiyonu, Güney-doğu Avrupa, Doğu Akdeniz Bölgesi, Yeniden önem kazanan enfeksiyon hastalıkları

West Nile virus infection in South-eastern Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean area

The West Nile virus (WNV) was identified in Uganda in 1937. This virus appeared in the Mediterranean area in the early 1950s, causing an outbreak in Egypt. Since then, WNV caused a series of outbreaks, in human and/or horses, especially in North-Africa and in the Middle East. In the last few decades, the lineage 1 of West Nile started to cause sporadic cases and outbreaks of West Nile fever and neuroinvasive disease in Southern and Eastern Europe, and a large outbreak was reported in Romania in 1997; then, sporadic cases continued to be reported in central and southern Europe for years. Since 2010, West Nile has reemerged in Europe and in the Mediterranean area. Studies of molecular epidemiology show a co-circulation of WNV lineage 1 and lineage 2 in several European countries. In particular, WNV lineage 2 appears now to be established in South-eastern Europe and in the Balkans. This suggests that WNV is continuously reintroduced in this geographical area. Specifically, the two lineages of WNV are dispersed throughout Europe after arriving through bird migration, following the western and the eastern routes. The latter route is likely to be involved in the emergence and reemergence of WNV infection in South-eastern Europe, where this viral infection represent an important public health challenge.

Keywords:

West Nile virus infections, South-eastern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean area, Emerging Infectious Diseases,

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