West Nile virus infection in individuals with pre-existing Usutu virus immunity, northern Italy, 2018.

West Nile virus infection in individuals with pre-existing Usutu virus immunity, northern Italy, 2018. Euro Surveill. 2019 May;24(21): Authors: Sinigaglia A, Pacenti M, Martello T, Pagni S, Franchin E, Barzon L Abstract In 2018, there was a large West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in northern Italy. We observed five atypical cases of WNV infection that were characterised by the presence of WNV RNA and WNV IgG at the time of diagnosis, but no IgM response during follow-up. Neutralisation assays demonstrated pre-existing Usutu virus immunity in all patients. Besides challenging diagnosis, the immunological crosstalk between the two viruses warrants further investigation on possible cross-protection or infection enhancement effects. PMID: 31138361 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Euro Surveill - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Euro Surveill Source Type: research