Open AccessSentinel serosurveillance of backyard hens proved West Nile virus circulation in the western provinces of Turkey
Author(s) -
Albayrak Harun,
Sahindokuyucu Ismail,
Muftuoglu Bahadir,
Tamer Cuneyt,
Kadi Hamza,
Ozan Emre,
Yilmaz Ozge,
Kilic Hamza,
Kurucay Hanne Nur,
Coven Fethiye,
Gumusova Semra,
Yazici Zafer,
Elhag Ahmed Eisa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
veterinary medicine and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 2053-1095
DOI - 10.1002/vms3.589
Subject(s) - west nile virus , veterinary medicine , asymptomatic carrier , virology , asymptomatic , virus , biology , antibody , geography , medicine , immunology
West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito‐borne virus of a re‐emergence importance with a wide range of vertebrate hosts. Granted, it causes asymptomatic infection, but fatal cases and neurologic disorders were also recorded, especially in humans, horses and some exposed birds. The virus is globally spread and birds are considered an amplifying and reservoir host of WNV, helping to spread the disease due to their close contact with main hosts. In this study, we aimed to detect the presence of antibodies against WNV in backyard hens that were reared in the western Anatolian part of Turkey. A total of 480 chicken sera were randomly collected from six provinces in the west of Turkey (Mugla, Izmir, Aydin, Afyonkarahisar, Kutahya and Manisa) with 80 samples from each province (40 in spring and 40 in fall seasons). They were tested by using a competitive ELISA method to identify the specific avian antibodies of IgG that produced against the WNV envelope proteins (pr‐E). Twelve of 480 (2.5%) sera were found seropositive, three of these positive sera were detected from the Izmir province (3.75%) collected in the spring session and the other nine positive sera were detected from the Mugla province (11.25%) collected in the fall session. Both of these provinces are located seaside and have suitable climate conditions for vectors of infection. The results indicated that WNV infection is in circulation in these provinces, and that may put the other susceptible vertebrates under risk of infection.