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Exposure of Eurasian magpies and turtle doves to West Nile virus during a major human outbreak, Greece, 2011

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Abstract

A major number of West Nile virus (WNV) infections in humans occurred in 2010 in northern Greece, with 262 laboratory confirmed cases. In 2011, fewer cases were reported, but the pattern was more dispersed throughout the Greek mainland. Isolated strains were similar to lineage 2 strains detected in previous years in Austria and Hungary from birds of prey. We conducted a serological surveillance study on hunter-harvested wild birds, to determine possible exposure of avian species during the current outbreak. Serum samples from a total of 113 Eurasian magpies and 85 turtle doves (abundant resident and migratory avian species, respectively, with potential roles in WNV epidemiology) were tested. These birds were hunter-harvested during 2011 from various prefectures both affected and not affected by the WNV outbreak in Greece. Sera were tested for the presence of WNV IgG antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Verification of positive results by a micro-virus neutralization test (VNT) was also performed. A total of 23 out of 113 (20.4%) Eurasian magpies and 6/85 (7.1%) turtle doves were found positive. Results showed association of human cases with wild birds’ exposure to the virus; no avian sera were found positive in prefectures not affected by the WNV outbreak. In contrast, positive avian sera were found in every prefecture that human WNV cases occurred in 2011. High seroprevalence in Eurasian magpies suggests high activity of WNV in the areas. Findings of past exposure of migratory birds like turtle doves to WNV upon their arrival in resting areas in Greece suggest various avian species with similar migration traits as target species for viral isolation studies, as they can be considered candidates for the introduction of WNV lineage 2 in Greece from Central Europe.

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Acknowledgments

The research leading to these results received partial funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 222633 (WildTech).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, 224 str. Trikalon, Karditsa, 43100, Greece

    George Valiakos, Antonia Touloudi, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Christos Iacovakis & Charalambos Billinis

  2. Laboratory of Zoonoses Research, Institute of Biomedical Research and Technology (BIOMED/CERETETH), Larissa, Greece

    George Valiakos, Antonia Touloudi, Labrini V. Athanasiou, Christos Iacovakis, Zisis Dalabiras & Charalambos Billinis

  3. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece

    Labrini V. Athanasiou

  4. Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Administration, Technological Education Institute of Larissa, Karditsa, Greece

    Periklis Birtsas

  5. Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Periklis Birtsas

  6. Department of Animal Production, Technological Education Institute of Larissa, Larissa, Greece

    Vassiliki Spyrou

  7. Department of Bacteriology, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, UK

    Liljana Petrovska

Authors
  1. George Valiakos
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  2. Antonia Touloudi
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  3. Labrini V. Athanasiou
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  4. Alexios Giannakopoulos
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  5. Christos Iacovakis
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  6. Periklis Birtsas
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  7. Vassiliki Spyrou
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  8. Zisis Dalabiras
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  9. Liljana Petrovska
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  10. Charalambos Billinis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charalambos Billinis.

Additional information

Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Valiakos, G., Touloudi, A., Athanasiou, L.V. et al. Exposure of Eurasian magpies and turtle doves to West Nile virus during a major human outbreak, Greece, 2011. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 749–753 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0603-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0603-1

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