Title: West Nile Virus (WNV) and Current Status of West Nile Virus in Turkey
Abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) was first identified in Uganda in 1937.Since then, it has spread around the world.WNV is mosquito-borne (mainly of the genus Culex) human pathogen and belonging to family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus.The WNV is a single-stranded RNA virus.WNV is transmitted by mosquitoes with wild birds as its natural hosts.Migratory birds play a role in the geographic dispersion of WNV.During enzootic transmission, WNV circulates primarily between mosquitoes and birds.Mosquitoes with WNV bite and infect people, horses, and other animals, all of whom are "dead end" host.In humans, an incubation period of 2-14 days precedes symptoms.Eighty percent of diseases are asymptomatic.In clinical cases, WNV is associated with febrile illness.In less than 1% of cases, WNV causes encephalitis or meningitis.The WNV can be classified into two lineages.Lineage 1 WNV strains have long been endemic in Africa, Australia, Asia and Mediterranean Basin.Lineage 2 WNV strains have been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa.Human WNV infection has been described in Europe since 1950.An increased number of outbreaks have been observed over the last twenty years on the world.Three cases were confirmed by Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency, all of them were identified during the 2nd and 3rd week of August 2011 in Turkey.In 2010, 47 West Nile fever cases were reported for the first time in Turkey.Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for WNV infection.Currently, there is no human vaccine against ÖZET Batı Nil virüsü (BNV) ilk kez 1937 yılında Uganda'da tanımlanmıştır.O günden bu yana dünyada yayılmaktadır.