Surveillance of maternal antibodies against West Nile virus in chicken eggs in South‐West Germany. Issue 5 (26th February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Börstler, Jessica; Engel, Dimitri; Petersen, Mathis; Poggensee, Claudia; Jansen, Stephanie; Schmidt‐Chanasit, Jonas; Lühken, Renke
• Is Part Of: Tropical medicine & international health. Volume 21:Issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 687
• Page End: 690
• Publication Date: 2016-02-26
• Subjects: chicken eggs -- Germany -- maternal antibodies -- surveillance -- West Nile virus; virus du Nil occidental -- surveillance -- Allemagne -- œufs de poules -- anticorps maternels; virus del Nilo Occidental -- vigilancia -- Alemania -- huevos de gallina -- anticuerpos maternos; Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 616.988
• DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12676
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-2276

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in several European countries increases the risk of its introduction to Germany. This study evaluated a new method for WNV surveillance by testing for maternal antibodies in chicken eggs. Methods: A total of 1, 990 eggs were collected in 35 sampling sites in the south‐west of Germany and tested for WNV‐specific antibodies. Results: The results did not indicate evidence for WNV circulation in the study area. Conclusion: This work serves as a proof‐of‐concept that such a method is useful and a potential alternative to use of sentinel chicken for regular WNV surveillance.