title: West Nile virus 'circulation' in Vojvodina, Serbia: Mosquito, bird, horse and human surveillance.
abstract: Efforts to detect West Nile virus (WNV) in the Vojvodina province, northern Serbia, commenced with human and mosquito surveillance in 2005, followed by horse (2009) and wild bird (2012) surveillance. The knowledge obtained regarding WNV circulation, combined with the need for timely detection of virus activity and risk assessment resulted in the implementation of a national surveillance programme integrating mosquito, horse and bird surveillance in 2014. From 2013, the system showed highly satisfactory results in terms of area specificity (the capacity to indicate the spatial distribution of the risk for human cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease - WNND) and sensitivity to detect virus circulation even at the enzootic level. A small number (n = 50) of Culex pipiens (pipiens and molestus biotypes, and their hybrids) females analysed per trap/night, combined with a high number of specimens in the sample, provided variable results in the early detection capacity at different administrative levels (NUTS2 versus NUTS3). The clustering of infected mosquitoes, horses, birds and human cases of WNND in 2014-2015 was highly significant, following the south-west to north-east direction in Vojvodina (NUTS2 administrative level). Human WNND cases grouped closest with infected mosquitoes in 2014, and with wild birds/mosquitoes in 2015. In 2014, sentinel horses showed better spatial correspondence with human WNND cases than sentinel chickens. Strong correlations were observed between the vector index values and the incidence of human WNND cases recorded at the NUTS2 and NUTS3 levels. From 2010, West Nile virus was detected in mosquitoes sampled at 43 different trap stations across Vojvodina. At 14 stations (32.56%), WNV was detected in two different (consecutive or alternate) years, at 2 stations in 3 different years, and in 1 station during 5 different years. Based on these results, integrated surveillance will be progressively improved to allow evidence-based adoption of preventive public health and mosquito control measures.
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia. Electronic address: dusanp@polj.uns.ac.rs.
authors: Dušan
authors: D
authors: Petrić
authors: Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Tamaš
authors: T
authors: Petrović
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Ivana
authors: I
authors: Hrnjaković Cvjetković
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Marija
authors: M
authors: Zgomba
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Vesna
authors: V
authors: Milošević
authors: Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Gospava
authors: G
authors: Lazić
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Aleksandra
authors: A
authors: Ignjatović Ćupina
authors: Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Diana
authors: D
authors: Lupulović
authors: Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Sava
authors: S
authors: Lazić
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Dragan
authors: D
authors: Dondur
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Slavica
authors: S
authors: Vaselek
authors: Specialized Veterinary Institute "Pančevo", Novoseljanski put 33, 26000, Pančevo, Serbia.
authors: Aleksandar
authors: A
authors: Živulj
authors: Specialized Veterinary Institute "Sombor", Staparski put 35, 25000, Sombor, Serbia.
authors: Bratislav
authors: B
authors: Kisin
authors: Specialized Veterinary Institute "Subotica", Segedinski put 88, 24000, Subotica, Serbia.
authors: Tibor
authors: T
authors: Molnar
authors: Specialized Veterinary Institute "Zrenjanin", Temišvarski drum 26, 23000, Zrenjanin, Serbia.
authors: Djordje
authors: D
authors: Janku
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Dubravka
authors: D
authors: Pudar
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Jelena
authors: J
authors: Radovanov
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Mihaela
authors: M
authors: Kavran
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Gordana
authors: G
authors: Kovačević
authors: Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Omladinskih brigada 1, 11080, Novi Beograd, Serbia.
authors: Budimir
authors: B
authors: Plavšić
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Aleksandra
authors: A
authors: Jovanović Galović
authors: Agricultural Station Novi Sad, Temerinska 131, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Milan
authors: M
authors: Vidić
authors: Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Futoška 121, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Svetlana
authors: S
authors: Ilić
authors: Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Mina
authors: M
authors: Petrić
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology*; D009033:Culicidae / Q000821:virology*; D005843:Geography; D006736:Horses / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012621:Seasons; D055771:Serbia; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Bird surveillance; Culex pipiens; Horse surveillance; Human surveillance; Mosquito surveillance; West Nile virus