title: Low Seroprevalence of West Nile Virus in Blood Donors from Catalonia, Spain.
abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging arbovirus first recognized in Europe in the 1950s. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in several European countries. In 2010, the first WNV outbreak was recorded in Spain, affecting the southern part of the country. We conducted a seroprevalence study in the Catalonia region (northeastern Spain), an area considered at high risk of arbovirus transmission. A total of 800 serum samples from blood donors were collected and screened for antibodies against WNV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by a microneutralization assay. More than 50 samples tested positive by ELISA, but only one sample contained neutralizing antibodies against WNV and was obtained from a donor native of Pakistan. The low seroprevalence detected may serve as reference baseline data for monitoring WNV activity in our region in future years.
authors.affiliation: 1 Transfusion Safety Laboratory, Catalonian Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piron
authors.affiliation: 2 ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plasencia
authors.affiliation: 3 Infection Biology Group, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fleta-Soriano
authors.affiliation: 4 Public Health Agency of Catalonia, Generalitat of Catalonia , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: 3 Infection Biology Group, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Javier P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: 4 Public Health Agency of Catalonia, Generalitat of Catalonia , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torner
authors.affiliation: 1 Transfusion Safety Laboratory, Catalonian Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sauleda
authors.affiliation: 3 Infection Biology Group, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra , Barcelona, Spain .|5 Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyerhans
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hospital Clínic , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Escalé
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Preventive Medicine, Hospital Clínic , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trilla
authors.affiliation: 8 Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pumarola
authors.affiliation: 2 ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona , Barcelona, Spain .|6 Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hospital Clínic , Barcelona, Spain .
authors.forename: Miguel Julian
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martinez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: Northeastern Spain.; Seroprevalence; West Nile virus