Evaluation of the circulation of West Nile Virus in the State of São Paulo: birds and equines as a sentinel population

• Grant number: 20/01632-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2020
• End date: November 22, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca
• Grantee: Márcio Junio Lima Siconelli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an emerging arbovirus, which was first detected in Northeastern Brazil in 2014. Four years later it was detected in the Southeastern region, affecting three horses. In 2019, another horse was reported in the state of Minas Gerais and the confirmation of the first human death caused by WNV in Brazil, although it was a 2017 case. The enzootic cycle is maintained between wild birds and mosquitoes, mainly of the Culex genus. Humans and horses do not have epidemiological importance in transmission, as they are considered terminal hosts and due to neurological impairment, usually die when affected. However, equidae can act as sentinel animals for early detection of the virus circulation in different regions. Due to the importance of this disease for public and animal health, the recent detection of WNV infection in the Southeastern region, the absence of well-established surveillance and the difficulty in diagnosis, this study aims to detect the possible circulation of WNV in the state of São Paulo in birds and equidae that have had any neurological signs or had an unknown death. The diagnosis will be made by molecular, histopathological and immunological techniques, recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), in order to detect the virus circulation and its extension in the state. This study may be used as a subsidy for health authorities to know the state's epidemiological status and to be able to act early in the dissemination of information and thus avoid possible human and animal cases. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MÁRCIO JUNIO LIMA SICONELLI; DANIEL MACEDO DE MELO JORGE; LUIZA ANTUNES DE CASTRO-JORGE; ANTÔNIO AUGUSTO FONSECA-JÚNIOR; MATEUS LAGUARDIA NASCIMENTO; VITOR GONÇALVES FLORIANO; FRANSÉRGIO ROCHA DE SOUZA; EUDSON MAIA DE QUEIROZ-JÚNIOR; MARCELO FERNANDES CAMARGOS; ELIANA DEA LARA COSTA; et al. Evidence for current circulation of an ancient West Nile virus strain (NY99) in Brazil. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, v. 54, 2021-03-08. (20/01632-4)

LIMA SICONELLI, MARCIO JUNIO; DE MELO JORGE, DANIEL MACEDO; DE CASTRO-JORGE, LUIZA ANTUNES; LOPES DA FONSECA, BENEDITO ANTONIO. Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of a Yellow Fever Virus Isolated from a Baby Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya) from Sao Paulo State, Brazil, in 2016. MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS, v. 10, n. 1, JAN 2021. (20/01632-4)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SICONELLI, Márcio Junio Lima. West Nile fever virus investigation in the State of São Paulo: birds and equids as a sentinel population. 2023. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.