Emergence of the West Nile Virus in the United States: Veterinary and Human Public Health Implications
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 28, 2019
- Creator
-
Montero, Julio C.
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
- Abstract
- West Nile virus (WNV) (Flaviviridae), an arbovirus (arthropod-borne) isolated in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in New York in 1999, has become endemic in the United States, affecting wild birds, horses, humans and other mammals. Mortality rates associated with the North American variant of WNV among corvid birds (American crow), horses and humans in 2000 was 97%, 40%, and 10%, respectively. The current geographic distribution of WNV in North America includes 31 states, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian Province of Ontario. U.S. Public Health authorities estimate that WNV will continue to expand its range towards the west and eventually become a coast-to-coast arboviral pathogen. The goal of this study was to investigate vaccination as a means of controlling the spread of infection in equine hosts. In August 2001, the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) conditionally approved a whole cell killed vaccine intended to protect horses from WNV infection. Thirty-five US Army-owned horses at Fort Bragg were inoculated with the WNV vaccine in the months of April and May 2002. Determination of antibody titers against WNV antigens was assessed using the Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT). Results indicate that the WN virus vaccine is capable of stimulating the production of antibodies at 28 and 63 days after vaccination. Twenty five percent of the horses in the population sample (3 out of 12 animals) had detectable titers after the first immunization while 75% (9 of 12) had detectable antibody titers after the second administration of the vaccine.
- Date of publication
- December 2002
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Advisor
- Leith, David
- Ball, Louise
- Seed, J. Richard
- Degree
- Master of Public Health
- Academic concentration
- Environmental Health Sciences
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2002
- Language
- Deposit record
- 8daa46ae-58bd-4ddf-8097-0c44062f7d48
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.