title: High prevalence of West Nile virus in equines from the two provinces of Pakistan.
abstract: This study describes the first large-scale serosurvey on West Nile virus (WNV) conducted in the equine population in Pakistan. Sera were collected from 449 equids from two provinces of Pakistan during 2012-2013. Equine serum samples were screened using a commercial ELISA kit detecting antibodies against WNV and related flaviviruses. ELISA-positive samples were further investigated using virus-specific microneutralization tests (MNTs) to identify infections with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), WNV and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Anti-WNV antibodies were detected in 292 samples by ELISA (seroprevalence 65.0%) and WNV infections were confirmed in 249 animals by MNT. However, there was no animal found infected by JEV or TBEV. The detection of WNV-seropositive equines in Pakistan strongly suggests a widespread circulation of WNV in Pakistan.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology,Laboratory of Animal Virology,College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan,Hubei,P.R. China.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zohaib
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saqib
authors.affiliation: European Union Reference Laboratory for Equine Diseases,ANSES,Animal Health Laboratory,Maisons-Alfort,France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: European Union Reference Laboratory for Equine Diseases,ANSES,Animal Health Laboratory,Maisons-Alfort,France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lowenski
authors.affiliation: European Union Reference Laboratory for Equine Diseases,ANSES,Animal Health Laboratory,Maisons-Alfort,France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecollinet
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sial
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Asi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mansoor
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology,Faculty of Science & Technology,Government College University Faisalabad.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saqalein
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sajid
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ashfaq
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology,Laboratory of Animal Virology,College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan,Hubei,P.R. China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004664:Encephalitis Virus, Japanese / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004672:Encephalitis, Japanese / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D018397:Equidae; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013045:Species Specificity; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: Infectious disease; Japanese encephalitis; West Nile virus; infectious disease epidemiology