Serological survey for Saint Louis encephalitis virus and West Nile virus in domestic mammals in Córdoba, Argentina: are our pets potential sentinels?

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 165; no. 9; pp. 2079 - 2082
• Main Authors: Currenti, Luisina, Tasca, Paula, Díaz, María del Pilar, Contigiani, Marta, Spinsanti, Lorena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01-09-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Report; Encephalitis; Infectious Diseases; Medical Microbiology; Pets; Serology; Virology; West Nile virus; Argentina
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/s00705-020-04719-y

We evaluated the seroprevalence of Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) in dogs and cats in Córdoba, Argentina. Monotypic and heterotypic serological patterns were differentiated by means of a neutralization test. The SLEV seroprevalence in dogs was 14.6% (44/302; 100% monotypic). Two out of 94 (2.1%, 100% monotypic) cats were positive for WNV only. Four dogs (1.3%) exhibited neutralizing antibody titers against SLEV and WNV. During the study, three dogs seroconverted to SLEV. Our study demonstrates that pets were useful for detecting viral activity and could be considered as sentinels in the local surveillance of SLEV and WNV.