West nile virus historical perspective
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
The first isolation of West Nile Virus (WNV) occurred in 1937 in a febrile woman in the province of Uganda[1]. Further investigations showed that the virus cycled in Africa between species of birds and species of mosquitoes[1]. In the 1950s, there were also outbreaks of West Nile Virus.[1] In New York City, in 1952, there was the first documented case of human encephalitis caused by West Nile Virus.[1]
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]
Overview
The first isolation of West Nile Virus (WNV) occurred in 1937 in a febrile woman in the province of Uganda[1]. Further investigations showed that the virus cycled in Africa between species of birds and species of mosquitoes[1]. In the 1950s, there were also outbreaks of West Nile Virus.[1] In New York City, in 1952, there was the first documented case of human encephalitis caused by West Nile Virus.[1]
Discovery
West Nile virus (WNV) was first discovered following its isolation in 1937 from a hospitalized patient presenting with isolated fever in the West Nile district of Northern Uganda.[2] Initial reports described a virus whose physical and pathological characteristics resemble that of St. Louis encephalitis virus and Japanese B encephalitis virus. Early studies noted the frequent involvement of the CNS among infected patients, suggesting neurotropism of the virus. It was not until the 1950-1960 Mediterranean basin outbreaks in small towns that clinical and pathological features of West Nile virus were really revealed.
Famous outbreaks
The first epidemic was documented in 1951 in Isreal, when Bernkopf and colleagues isolated WNV among 123 cases.[3][4] Further understanding of the viral pattern, mode of transmission, and pathogenesis was conducted by studies in 1951-1954 following outbreaks in Cairo, Egypt.[3][5][6] The first report of neurological sequelae following WNV infection was documented in 1957 during an outbreak in Israel.[2] Other outbreaks in other regions, such as Europe, India, South Africa, were later described in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] In 1996, an outbreak of WNV in Romania in Europe spiraled a series of outbreaks in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe region.[7][8] Unlike early reports that mostly included children, these outbreaks unveiled adult preponderance and an increased rate of CNS complications associated with the disease.[7][8]
The first outbreak in USA initially described 8 cases, most of which had neurological symptoms, in 1999 in Queens, New York City.[9] The 1999 outbreak in USA finally marked the global spread of the virus. The outbreak eventually infected a total of 62 individuals, whose symptoms were mostly severe and necessitated hospitalization.[10][11][12][13][14] Only 3 years later after its documented presence in USA, the clinically most severe WNV outbreak ever occurred in North America in 2002, where the largest record of meningoencephalitis was registered.
Development of treatment strategies
Impact on cultural history
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Gea-Banacloche J, Johnson RT, Bagic A, Butman JA, Murray PR, Agrawal AG (2004). "West Nile virus: pathogenesis and therapeutic options". Annals of Internal Medicine. 140 (7): 545–53. PMID 15068983. Retrieved 2012-03-27. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sejvar JJ (2003). dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=21765761 "West nile virus: an historical overview" Check
|url=value (help). Ochsner J. 5 (3): 6–10. PMC 3111838. PMID 21765761. - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Murgue B, Murri S, Triki H, Deubel V, Zeller HG (2001). "West Nile in the Mediterranean basin: 1950-2000". Ann N Y Acad Sci. 951: 117–26. PMID 11797769.
- ↑ Bernkopf H, Levine S, Nerson R (1953). "Isolation of West Nile virus in Israel". J Infect Dis. 7: 128–132.
- ↑ HURLBUT HS, RIZK F, TAYLOR RM, WORK TH (1956). "A study of the ecology of West Nile virus in Egypt". Am J Trop Med Hyg. 5 (4): 579–620. PMID 13354882.
- ↑ Philip CB, Samdel JE (1943). "Transmission of West Nile virus by infected Aedes albopictus". Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 53: 49–50.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tsai TF, Popovici F, Cernescu C, Campbell GL, Nedelcu NI (1998). "West Nile encephalitis epidemic in southeastern Romania". Lancet. 352 (9130): 767–71. PMID 9737281.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Campbell GL, Ceianu CS, Savage HM (2001). "Epidemic West Nile encephalitis in Romania: waiting for history to repeat itself". Ann N Y Acad Sci. 951: 94–101. PMID 11797808.
- ↑ Nash D, Mostashari F, Fine A, Miller J, O'Leary D, Murray K; et al. (2001). "The outbreak of West Nile virus infection in the New York City area in 1999". N Engl J Med. 344 (24): 1807–14. doi:10.1056/NEJM200106143442401. PMID 11407341.
- ↑ Giladi M, Metzkor-Cotter E, Martin DA, Siegman-Igra Y, Korczyn AD, Rosso R; et al. (2001). "West Nile encephalitis in Israel, 1999: the New York connection". Emerg Infect Dis. 7 (4): 659–61. doi:10.3201/eid0704.010410. PMC 2631756. PMID 11585528.
- ↑ Briese T, Jia XY, Huang C, Grady LJ, Lipkin WI (1999). "Identification of a Kunjin/West Nile-like flavivirus in brains of patients with New York encephalitis". Lancet. 354 (9186): 1261–2. PMID 10520637.
- ↑ Jia XY, Briese T, Jordan I, Rambaut A, Chi HC, Mackenzie JS; et al. (1999). "Genetic analysis of West Nile New York 1999 encephalitis virus". Lancet. 354 (9194): 1971–2. PMID 10622305.
- ↑ Lanciotti RS, Roehrig JT, Deubel V, Smith J, Parker M, Steele K; et al. (1999). "Origin of the West Nile virus responsible for an outbreak of encephalitis in the northeastern United States". Science. 286 (5448): 2333–7. PMID 10600742.
- ↑ Weiss D, Carr D, Kellachan J, Tan C, Phillips M, Bresnitz E; et al. (2001). "Clinical findings of West Nile virus infection in hospitalized patients, New York and New Jersey, 2000". Emerg Infect Dis. 7 (4): 654–8. doi:10.3201/eid0704.010409. PMC 2631758. PMID 11589170.