title: West Nile Virus Surveillance in the Lombardy Region, Northern Italy.
abstract: In 2013, the circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) was detected in the Lombardy region and the following year a surveillance programme was activated with the aim of early identification of the viral distribution in mosquitoes and wild birds. A total of 50 959 Culex spp. mosquitoes grouped in six hundred and forty-seven pools as well as 1400 birds were screened by RT-PCR for the presence of West Nile virus leading to the identification of the viral genome in 32 mosquito pools and 13 wild birds. The surveillance was able to detect the WNV circulation on an average of 42 days (CI 95% 29.98-53.86; Student's t-distribution) before the occurrence of human West Nile disease (WND) cases in the same area. These results demonstrate the presence of WNV in the Lombardy region and confirm entomological and wild birds surveillance as an effective measure for the early identification of WNV circulation in infected areas, thus providing a useful and cost-effective tool for the public health authorities in the application of measures to prevent human infection.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiari
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prosperi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faccin
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Avisani
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerioli
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bertoletti
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise ''G. Caporale'', Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise ''G. Caporale'', Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monaco
authors.affiliation: U.O. Veterinaria, Regione Lombardia, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farioli
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lelli
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lavazza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds; D003465:Culex / Q000821:virology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011634:Public Health; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Italy; West Nile virus; surveillance; vectors; wild birds