Use of Competition ELISA for Monitoring of West Nile Virus infections in Horses in Germany

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Ute Ziegler¹  Joke Angenvoort¹  Christine Klaus³  Uschi Nagel-Kohl⁹  Claudia Sauerwald⁵  Sabine Thalheim⁴  Steffen Horner⁶  Bettina Braun⁷  Susanne Kenklies⁸  Judith Tyczka²  Markus Keller¹ 

[1] Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Südufer 10, D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany; E-Mails:;State Institute for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis, Weißenburger Str. 3, D-76187 Karlsruhe, Germany; E-Mail:;Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Naumburger Str. 96a, D-07743 Jena, Germany; E-Mail:;Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory (LLBB), Gerhard-Neumann-Str. 2-3, D-15236 Frankfurt (Oder), Germany; E-Mail:;Landesbetrieb Hessisches Landeslabor, Veterinary virology and molecular biology, Schubertstr. 60, D-35392 Gießen, Germany; E-Mail:;Thuringian State Authority for Consumer Protection (TLV), Tennstedter Straße 8/9, D-99947 Bad Langensalza, Germany; E-Mail:;Landesuntersuchungsamt Rhineland-Palatinate, Blücherstr. 34, D-56073 Koblenz, Germany; E-Mail:;State Institute for Consumer Protection of Saxony-Anhalt, Department for Veterinary Medicine, Haferbreiter Weg 132-135, D-39576 Stendal, Germany; E-Mail:;Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES), Food and Veterinary Institute Braunschweig/Hannover, Institute Hannover, Eintrachtweg 17, D-30173 Hannover, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: West Nile virus;    neutralization;    ELISA;    serology;    horses;    Germany;    tick-borne encephalitis virus;    flavivirus;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph10083112

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne viral pathogen of global importance and is considered to be the most widespread flavivirus in the World. Horses, as dead-end hosts, can be infected by bridge mosquito vectors and undergo either subclinical infections or develop severe neurological diseases. The aim of this study was to detect WNV specific antibodies in horses in Germany as an indicator for an endemic circulation of WNV. Sera from more than 5,000 horses (primarily fallen stock animals) were collected in eight different federal states of Germany from 2010 to 2012. Sera were screened by a competitive ELISA and positive reactions were verified by an indirect IgM ELISA and/or by virus neutralization tests (VNT) for WNV and Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in order to exclude cross-reacting antibody reactions. In essence WNV specific antibodies could not be detected in any of the horse sera. Not surprisingly, a small number of sera contained antibodies against TBEV. It is noteworthy that equine sera were often collected from horse carcasses and therefore were of poor quality. Nonetheless, these sera were still suitable for WNV ELISA testing, i.e., they did not produce a high background reaction which is a frequently observed phenomenon. According to these data there is no evidence for indigenous WNV infections in horses in Germany at present.

【 授权许可】

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