West Nile Virus in Farmed Crocodiles, Zambia, 2019

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 811 - 814
• Main Authors: Simulundu, Edgar, Ndashe, Kunda, Chambaro, Herman M., Squarre, David, Reilly, Paul Michael, Chitanga, Simbarashe, Changula, Katendi, Mukubesa, Andrew N., Ndebe, Joseph, Tembo, John, Kapata, Nathan, Bates, Matthew, Sinkala, Yona, Hang’ombe, Bernard M., Nalubamba, King S., Kajihara, Masahiro, Sasaki, Michihito, Orba, Yasuko, Takada, Ayato, Sawa, Hirofumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.04.2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Africa; Alligators; Antibodies; Crocodiles; Crocodylus niloticus; Disease transmission; Diseases; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Family; Flaviviridae; Infections; Infectious diseases; Mosquitoes; National parks; Nervous system diseases; Nucleic acids; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Public health; R&D; Reptiles; Research & development; Research Letter; Snakes; Veterinary medicine; Viruses; West Nile fever; West Nile virus; West Nile Virus in Farmed Crocodiles, Zambia, 2019; Zambia; Northern Africa; United Kingdom; Zambia; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Senegal; Europe; Japan; Africa; Zimbabwe; South Africa; Florida; crocodiles; viruses; vector-borne infections; West Nile virus; arboviruses; West Nile fever; zoonoses; Zambia; mosquitoborne disease; Flaviviridae; Crocodylus niloticus
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2604.190954

We detected West Nile virus (WNV) nucleic acid in crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in Zambia. Phylogenetically, the virus belonged to lineage 1a, which is predominant in the Northern Hemisphere. These data provide evidence that WNV is circulating in crocodiles in Africa and increases the risk for animal and human transmission.