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Shaibi T, Saadawi WK, Aghila H, Annajar BB.
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J Vector Borne Dis. 2017 Apr-Jun;54(2):183-186.
Abstract
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: West Nile fever (WNF) is a mosquito-borne viral infection,
circulated in natural cycles between birds and mosquitoes, particularly Culex
species. It is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, and causes a variety of
clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic or mild febrile illness to severe men
in go encepha- litis with some fatalities observed in older or immunocompromised
patients. West Nile virus (WNV) transmission is considerably influenced by
environmental conditions; and abundance of avifauna and mosquitoes.There are very
few reports on WNV exposure in individuals from Tripoli City in Libya. The main
objective was to provide basic epidemiological information about the WNV
seroprevalence in the human population of Tripoli. METHODS: A total of 400 serum
samples were collected from persons (123 females, 277 males; age range: 15-78 yr)
approaching the Tripoli Reference Laboratory for the purpose of obtaining health
certificate; during the period from August to October 2013. The presence of WNV IgG
antibodies was evaluated by a commercial kit based on WNV immunoglobulin G (IgG)
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: It was observed that 2.75%
(11/400) samples were found reactive in the WNV ELISA assay. This result suggests
that WNV has a low prevalence in the study area. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION:
Seropositivity rates of WNV in Tripoli region of Libya were low. However, continu-
ous monitoring of population is important to keep track of the disease prevalence,
risk factors, reservoir hosts and vectors for better understaning of the disease
epidemiology and designing appropriate control strategies.
Keywords: .
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