title: Searching for West Nile virus (WNV) in Greece.
abstract: West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has increasingly become a concern in both America and Europe due to its complex and unpredictable lifecycle. Transfusion-associated transmission of the WNV has been well documented during the last few years. This study aimed to detect the presence of WNV in: (i) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens derived from aseptic meningitis cases in Greece and (ii) Greek blood donations. A total of 115 CSF specimens from patients suffering from aseptic meningitis and 9590 blood samples were collected from seven Greek hospitals during the periods June to October 2006 and 2007 and tested for investigational purposes. Both blood and CSF samples were tested for the presence of WNV RNA by using the PROCLEIX WNV assay. None of 115 CSF and 9590 blood donor samples was found positive according to our testing algorithms. Despite the presence of WNV in Balkan countries, WNV has not reached significant levels in Greece.
authors.affiliation: National Retrovirus Reference Center, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Kantzanou
authors.forename: Z M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Moschidis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kremastinou
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levidiotou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karafoulidou
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Politis
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Marantidou
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kavallierou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaperoni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Veneti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hatzakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008582:Meningitis, Aseptic / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D014766:Viremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral