Diagnosis of West Nile Virus Human Infections: Overview and Proposal of Diagnostic Protocols Considering the Results of External Quality Assessment Studies

Viruses

Vittorio Sambri⁴  Maria R. Capobianchi²  Francesca Cavrini⁴  Rémi Charrel⁵  Olivier Donoso-Mantke⁶  Camille Escadafal⁶  Leticia Franco¹  Paolo Gaibani⁴  Ernest A. Gould⁵  Matthias Niedrig⁶  Anna Papa³  Anna Pierro⁴  Giada Rossini⁴  Andrea Sanchini⁶  Antonio Tenorio¹  Stefania Varani⁴  Ana Vázquez¹  Caterina Vocale⁴ 

[1] National Microbiology Centre, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28220, Spain; E-Mails:;National Institute for Infectious Diseases (INMI) “L. Spallanzani”, Rome 00149, Italy; E-Mail:;Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; E-Mail:;Operative Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Regional Reference Centre for Microbiological Emergencies, S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna 40138, Italy; E-Mails:;UMR_D 190 “Emergence des Pathologies Virales”, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, EHESP French School of Public Health & IHU Mediterranee Infection, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, Aix Marseille University, 13005, Marseille, France; E-Mail:;Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens (ZBS-1), Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin 13353, Germany; E-Mails:

关键词: West Nile virus;    state of the art laboratory diagnostic;    external quality assurance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/v5102329

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

West Nile virus, genus Flavivirus, is transmitted between birds and occasionally other animals by ornithophilic mosquitoes. This virus also infects humans causing asymptomatic infections in about 85% of cases and <1% of clinical cases progress to severe neuroinvasive disease. The virus also presents a threat since most infections remain unapparent. However, the virus contained in blood and organs from asymptomatically infected donors can be transmitted to recipients of these infectious tissues. This paper reviews the presently available methods to achieve the laboratory diagnosis of West Nile virus infections in humans, discussing the most prominent advantages and disadvantages of each in light of the results obtained during four different External Quality Assessment studies carried out by the European Network for ‘Imported’ Viral Diseases (ENIVD).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.