Genetic Analysis WNV, Mexico (EID July 04)

PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF WEST NILE VIRUS, NUEVO LEON STATE, MEXICO.
Emerging Infectious Diseases 10 (7): July 2004.
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no7/03-0959.htm>

Bradley J. Blitvich, Ildefonso Fernández-Salas, Juan F.
Contreras-Cordero, María A. Loroño-Pino, Nicole L. Marlenee,
Francisco J. Díaz, José I. González-Rojas, Nelson Obregón-Martínez,
Jorge A. Chiu-García, William C. Black IV, and Barry J. Beaty.
     The authors are with Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO;
Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico; and Secretaria de Salud
de Nuevo Leon, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Abstract:
West Nile virus RNA was detected in brain tissue from a horse that
died in June 2003 in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Nucleotide sequencing
and phylogenetic analysis of the premembrane and envelope genes
showed that the virus was most closely related to West Nile virus
isolates collected in Texas in 2002.

Conclusions:
The data presented here indicate that WNV was introduced into Nuevo
Leon State, Mexico, from inland Texas. A likely mode of introduction
was by infected birds traveling for short distances (16). Earlier
studies have provided serologic evidence of WNV infection in horses
or birds in the nearby Mexican states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and
Chihuahua. Taken together, our sequence data and the findings from
the serosurveys indicate that WNV activity is now widespread in
northern Mexico, as well as in other regions in Mexico. The
geographic distribution of WNV in the Americas will likely continue
to expand; thus, enhanced WNV surveillance in Mexico is warranted.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WESTNILEVIRUS-L is an email discussion group for communication and discussion
about West Nile Virus, particularly regarding policy, risk reduction and public
education issues. It is moderated by Dr. Lois Levitan at Cornell University's
Environmental Risk Analysis Program.  Archives are posted at:
http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/WNV/WNV-L_ArchiveIndex.html.
To subscribe (or unsubscribe), send an email request with your name and contact
information to <envrisk@cornell.edu>. To receive messages once a day in digest
format,  subscribers can send an email to <listproc@cornell.edu> with message:
"set WESTNILEVIRUS-L mail digest-nomime".
Subscribers are encouraged to post to the group by sending messages to
<envrisk@cornell.edu>.  Please put "WNV Listserv" in the subject line and
send only unformatted text, without attachments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------