An outbreak of West Nile Virus infection in the region of Monastir, Tunisia, 2003

TLDR: The phylogenetic analysis revealed that isolates of WNV were closely related to the Tunisian strain 1997 (PAH001) and the Israeli one (Is-98).

Abstract: Background:A West Nile (WN) fever epidemic occurred in the region of Monastir, Tunisia, between August and October 2003.Aim of the study:We attempt to describe the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and outcome of patients with confirmed West Nile virus (WNV) infection.Methods:Three groups of specimens were prepared. One was made up of serum only (n  =  43), the other of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) only (n  =  30), and the third group was made up of both (n  =  40). These specimens were obtained from 113 patients. A serological diagnosis and evidence of WNV genome by nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) and TaqMan reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were carried out.Results:Thirty-eight cases (33.6%) were serologically positive. Results of nRT-PCR showed a total of 10 positive cases of WNV (8.8%) detected in group 1 (n  =  1/43), group 2 (n  =  5/30), and group 3 (n  =  4/40) whereas the PCR TaqMan showed 18 positive samples (15.9%) found in group 1...