Identification of West Nile virus infection by anti-premembrane antibodies in Nicaraguan children prior to 2007–2009

作者：Wen-Yang Tsai, Alanna C. Tseng, Guanhua Chen, Szu-Chia Hsieh, Ángel Balmaseda, Vivek R. Nerurkar, Eva Harris, Wei‐Kung Wang · 发表于：Microbiology Spectrum · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1128/spectrum.00047-25 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Mosquito-borne diseases and control、Malaria Research and Control、Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment

Since its introduction to the Western Hemisphere in 1999 in New York City, West Nile virus (WNV) has spread throughout the continental USA and moved into Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and Central and South Americas. While WNV has caused ~7 million human infections and >59,000 cases in the USA and >6,000 cases in Canada, only few human cases have been reported in Latin America. Due to the cross-reactivity of anti-envelope antibodies, the detection of WNV infection by serology to explore its epidemiology in Latin America, where multiple flaviviruses co-circulate, remains a challenge. Previously, we reported that anti-premembrane (prM) antibodies can distinguish between four flavivirus (WNV, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever viruses) infections. In this study, we examined 73 samples from 40 Zika cases from a pediatric cohort in Nicaragua using Western blot analysis and detected anti-prM antibodies to WNV in three participants in samples collected between 2016 and 2017, suggesting previous WNV infection prior to ZIKV infection. Analysis of available archived samples revealed anti-WNV prM antibodies in the earliest samples (2007-2009), which were further confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization test, suggesting that they were infected by WNV prior to 2007-2009. Our report of WNV infection in three Nicaraguan children, corresponding to a seropositive rate of 7.5%, highlights the transmission of WNV in humans in Central America prior to 2007. Future studies with improved serological t...