West nile virus infection in humans and other vertebrates

Abstract

The West Nile virus is an arthropod borne or ARBO virus from the Flaviviridae family, which is maintained in nature in the transmission cycle between hosting birds and ornithophilic mosquito vectors. The virus is capable of infecting different vertebrate species and 60 mosquito species. The infection in humans can be asymptomatic or it can have different clinical manifestations ranging from light febrile diseases to fatal meningoencephalitis. This paper presents recent findings on the activity of the West Nile virus in Europe, the USA and Serbia. Presented are the results of serological testing of human populations and animals in Serbia, and the methods of molecular diagnostics to prove the existence of the virus.