title: Genetic variability of West Nile virus in US blood donors, 2002-2005.
abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) was detected in the United States in 1999, has reoccurred every summer since, and has become endemic. Transfusion transmission was documented in 2002, and screening of blood donations for WNV began in 2003. We investigated genetic variation of WNV in human isolates obtained from specimens collected from 30 infected blood donors who tested positive for WNV RNA during 2002-2005. Complete genomic sequences of 8 isolates and structural gene sequences from 22 additional isolates were analyzed. We found some genetic diversity in isolates from different geographic regions and genetic divergence from reported sequences from epidemics in 1999-2001. Nucleotide divergence of structural genes showed a small increase from 2002 (0.18%) to 2005 (0.37%), suggesting absence of strong selective pressure and limited genetic evolution of WNV during that period. Nevertheless, WNV has continued to diverge from precursor isolates as geographic distribution of the virus has expanded.
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Andriyan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grinev
authors.forename: Sylvester
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stramer
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossmann
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caglioti
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rios
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001782:Blood Donors; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014709:Vero Cells; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins