Ecological Surveillance for West Nile in Catalonia (Spain), Learning from a Five‐Year Period of Follow‐up

• Published in: Zoonoses and public health Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 181 - 191
• Main Authors: Alba, A, Allepuz, A, Napp, S, Soler, M, Selga, I, Aranda, C, Casal, J, Pages, N, Hayes, E. B, Busquets, N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell 01.05.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Bird Diseases - epidemiology; Bird Diseases - virology; Birds; Catalonia; chickens; Chickens - virology; Culicidae; Culicidae - virology; ecological surveillance component; Environmental Monitoring; Flavivirus - immunology; Flavivirus - physiology; Flavivirus Infections - epidemiology; Flavivirus Infections - veterinary; Flavivirus Infections - virology; flaviviruses; Follow-Up Studies; Geography; Horse Diseases - epidemiology; Horse Diseases - virology; Horses; hosts; humans; Insect Vectors - virology; monitoring; Poultry Diseases - epidemiology; Poultry Diseases - virology; Sentinel Surveillance; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Spain; Spain - epidemiology; West Nile Fever - epidemiology; West Nile Fever - veterinary; West Nile Fever - virology; West Nile virus; West Nile virus - immunology; West Nile virus - physiology; wild birds; Spain; Catalonia; flaviviruses; West Nile virus; ecological surveillance component; Spain
• ISSN: 1863-1959; 1863-2378
• DOI: 10.1111/zph.12048

To enhance early detection of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission, an integrated ecological surveillance system was implemented in Catalonia (north‐eastern Spain) from 2007 to 2011. This system incorporated passive and active equine surveillance, periodical testing of chicken sentinels in wetland areas, serosurveillance wild birds and testing of adult mosquitoes. Samples from 298 equines, 100 sentinel chickens, 1086 wild birds and 39 599 mosquitoes were analysed. During these 5 years, no acute WNV infection was detected in humans or domestic animal populations in Catalonia. WNV was not detected in mosquitoes either. Nevertheless, several seroconversions in resident and migrant wild birds indicate that local WNV or other closely related flaviviruses transmission was occurring among bird populations. These data indicate that bird and mosquito surveillance can detect otherwise silent transmission of flaviviruses and give some insights regarding possible avian hosts and vectors in a European setting.