title: The complete sequence of a West Nile virus lineage 2 strain detected in a Hyalomma marginatum marginatum tick collected from a song thrush (Turdus philomelos) in eastern Romania in 2013 revealed closest genetic relationship to strain Volgograd 2007.
abstract: In this study the first complete sequence of the West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 2 strain currently circulating in Romania was determined. The virus was detected in a Hyalomma marginatum marginatum tick collected from a juvenile song thrush (Turdus philomelos) in the Romanian Danube Delta close to the city of Tulcea, end of August 2013. Our finding emphasizes the role of ticks in introduction and maintenance of WNV infections. Sequence analyses revealed close genetic relationship of the Romanian WNV strain to strain Reb_Volgograd_07_H, which was isolated from human brain tissue during an outbreak of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) in Russia in 2007. In 2010 the Eastern European lineage 2 WNV caused an outbreak of human WNND in Romania. Partial sequences from subsequent years demonstrated that this WNV strain became endemic in Eastern Europe and has been causing outbreaks of varying sizes in southern Russia since 2007 and in Romania since 2010.
authors.affiliation: Viral Zoonoses, Emerging and Vector-Borne Infections Group, Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kolodziejek
authors.affiliation: Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Tulcea, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marinov
authors.affiliation: Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Tulcea, Romania.
authors.forename: Botond J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.affiliation: Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Tulcea, Romania.
authors.forename: Vasile
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alexe
authors.affiliation: Viral Zoonoses, Emerging and Vector-Borne Infections Group, Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nowotny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D020308:Songbirds / Q000821:virology*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D013987:Ticks / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral