@article{1be2e3d9cec64160b8a9cffa7e5b5e8d,
title = "Emergence of West Nile virus lineage 2 in Europe: Characteristics of the first seven cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in horses in Austria",
abstract = "We report details of the first seven equine cases of confirmed West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Austria. The cases presented during summer and autumn of 2016 (n = 2), 2017 (n = 3) and 2018 (n = 2). All horses showed gait abnormalities and 6 of 7 horses exhibited fasciculations and/or tremors, and we provide video recordings of these. Three horses also showed cranial nerve involvement. Following rapid improvement, three horses were discharged. Four horses were euthanized due to the severity of clinical signs and subjected to neuropathological examination. West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 2 nucleic acid was detected in 5 of 7 horses, and WNV-specific neutralizing antibodies in all 7 horses. In addition, serologic evidence of WNV infection was found in two out of fourteen in-contact horses. Horses may be considered a sentinel species for human WNV infections, integrating human and veterinary medicine and thus contributing to the one health concept.",
keywords = "Austria, equid, flavivirus, horse, West Nile neuroinvasive disease, West Nile virus, zoonosis",
author = "{de Heus}, Phebe and Jolanta Kolodziejek and Camp, {Jeremy V.} and Katharina Dimmel and Zolt{\'a}n Bag{\'o} and Zdenek Hub{\'a}lek and {van den Hoven}, Ren{\'e} and Cavalleri, {Jessika M.V.} and Norbert Nowotny",
note = "Funding Information: The authors thank the diagnostic teams of the Institute of Virology and the Institute of Pathology, both University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. We also thank the team of the National Reference Laboratory for equine encephalomyelitis (AGES) and State Veterinarian Dr. Harald Wenzl. We thank the referring veterinarians including Mag. Isabel Hanisch, Dr. Angela Honeder and Dr. Jasmin Cermak for entrusting us their cases. We acknowledge our colleagues of the internal medicine team Sonja Berger and Hannah Junge, who were involved in treating the horses. We appreciate the help of Dominika Kapuscinska for creating the map and Dipl.-Ing. David Meissl in compiling the clinical video. We like to express our gratitude to the stable manager of case 1 and all horse owners for their collaboration and trust. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.",
year = "2020",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/tbed.13452",
language = "English",
volume = "67",
pages = "1189--1197",
journal = "Transboundary and Emerging Diseases",
issn = "1865-1674",
number = "3",
}