Detection of West Nile virus in a common whitethroat (Curruca communis) and Culex mosquitoes in the Netherlands, 2020

On 22 August, a common whitethroat in the Netherlands tested positive for West Nile virus lineage 2. The same bird had tested negative in spring. Subsequent testing ofCulex mosquitoes collected in August and early September in the same location generated two of 44 positive mosquito pools, providing first evidence for enzootic transmission in the Netherlands. Sequences generated from the positive mosquito pools clustered with sequences that originate from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Source: Eurosurveillance - October 8, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Reina S Sikkema, Maarten Schrama, Tijs van den Berg, Jolien Morren, Emmanuelle Munger, Louie Krol, Jordy G van der Beek, Rody Blom, Irina Chestakova, Anne van der Linden, Marjan Boter, Tjomme van Mastrigt, Richard Molenkamp, Constantianus JM Koenraadt, Ju Source Type: research