A Scoping Review of West Nile Virus Seroprevalence Studies among African Equids

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging and re-emerging zoonotic flavivirus first identified in and endemic to Africa. The virus is transmitted between birds by biting mosquitoes, with equids and humans being incidental hosts. The majority of infected incidental hosts display no or only mild clinical signs, but a fraction develop encephalitis. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and evaluate primary research on the presence of antibodies to WNV among African equids. Three bibliographic databases and the grey literature were searched. Of 283 articles identified, only 16 satisfied all the inclusion criteria. Data were collated on study design and outcomes. The overall seroprevalence reported ranged from 17.4 to 90.3%, with 1998 (35%) of the 5746 horses, donkeys and mules having screened positive for WNV antibodies. Several articles determined that seroprevalence increased significantly with age. Due to co-circulation of other flaviviruses in Africa, in the majority of studies that screened samples by ELISA, positive results were confirmed using a more specific neutralization test. However, only eight studies tested against other flaviviruses, including Potiskum, Uganda S, Wesselsbron and yellow fever virus in one, Japanese encephalitis and Usutu virus (USUV) in one, tick-borne encephalitis and USUV in one and USUV only in three. Equids are regarded as useful sentinel animals for WNV, but variation in study design poses challenges when trying to determine risk factors for, and trends in, WNV seroprevalence.

Comparison of West Nile Virus Disease in Humans and Horses: Exploiting Similarities for Enhancing Syndromic Surveillance

“…ELISA testing consists of in-house or commercially available indirect IgG, IgM capture, and competitive inhibition (CI) formats [ 189 , 190 , 191 , 192 ]. The indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test is used to screen for the closely related Usutu virus [ 189 , 193 ]. This test has value in that it is rapid and less expensive than ELISA test kits; however, the IFA has a higher percentage of false positives [ 189 , 193 ].…”

“…The indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test is used to screen for the closely related Usutu virus [ 189 , 193 ]. This test has value in that it is rapid and less expensive than ELISA test kits; however, the IFA has a higher percentage of false positives [ 189 , 193 ]. The hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test is rarely used and has decreased sensitivity compared to both IgG and IgM ELISA testing in horses [ 194 , 195 ].…”

“…However, the results of laboratory testing are often delayed by days or even weeks. In studies where both humans and horses are simultaneously tested, horses generally have a higher seroprevalence [ 193 , 197 , 198 , 199 , 200 , 201 , 202 ], and mapping of WNV antibodies in non-vaccinated populations of horses is predictive of past or recent WNV activity [ 193 , 203 , 204 ]. The overall usefulness of laboratory-confirmed neuroinvasive horse cases for the prediction of WNV cases in humans is equivocal.…”

First Serological Evidence of West Nile Virus among Individuals with Febrile Illness in a Tertiary Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

“…"West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging and reemerging zoonotic flavivirus first identified in and endemic to Africa" [1]. "West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne viral pathogen that is the causative agent of West Nile fever and encephalitis" [2].…”

“…"The virus is transmitted between birds by biting mosquitoes, with equids and humans being incidental hosts" [1]. "The majority of infected incidental hosts display no or only mild clinical signs, but a fraction develop encephalitis" [1].…”