Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Mosquito-borne flavivirus exposure in hunting dogs in Italy
By Montagnaro, Serena et al.·Published in Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.)·2019·1 Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serological Evidence of Mosquito-Borne Flaviviruses Circulation in Hunting Dogs in Campania Region, Italy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A survey of 183 hunting dogs in Southern Italy found that about 40% had been exposed to Flavivirus, a type of virus often spread by mosquitoes. Specifically, 13% of the dogs tested positive for the Usutu virus, while none showed signs of the West Nile virus. The study also noted that dogs living near farm animals or in rural areas had a higher chance of exposure. However, no active infections were found in the blood samples tested. This research highlights the importance of monitoring hunting dogs for potential virus exposure, especially in areas where mosquitoes are common.
People also search for: hunting dog mosquito virus exposure · Usutu virus in dogs · Flavivirus symptoms in dogs
Abstract
A Flavivirus survey on 183 hunting dogs was conducted in Campania region, Southern Italy. The seroprevalence value of 40.43% (74/183, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 33.37-47.49) detected in our study using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent serologic assay (cELISA) proves a considerable level of Flavivirus exposition of these animals. Among the 74 cELISA-positive sera, seroneutralization (SN) test showed that 24 sera resulted positive for Usutu virus with an overall prevalence of 13.11% (24/183) (95% CI 8.27-17.95), but none of cELISA-positive samples resulted positive for West Nile virus. Data analysis showed a significant difference of cELISA seropositivity risk factors in case of presence of farm animals in contact with hunting dogs and for dogs living in a rural environment but not for gender, age, management, hunting season, and hunting abroad. A RT-PCR assay was performed to detect the Flavivirus RNA, but none of the blood samples tested positive. This study documents the first report regarding the circulation of Flavivirus in hunting dog in Southern Italy and suggests the dog as an interesting target to monitor Flavivirus circulation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30160624/