Humans ; West Nile Fever ; West Nile virus

During 2003 - 2004, in total 976 sera and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) were collected from Pediatric Hospital, several Centers of Preventive Medicine and National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Tay Nguyen for screening viral pathogens cause AES using MAC-ELISA with Japanese encephalitis (JE), West Nile and Nam Dinh virus antigens. Results: Out of 976 sera and cerebrospinal fluid samples of AES patients were screened using JE virus antigen, 46.1% (454/976) cases were confirmed to be JE virus infection. Out of 239 cerebrospinal fluid samples of AES patients were screened by Nam Dinh virus antigen, 13.4% (32/239) cases were confirmed to be Nam Dinh virus infection. Out of 103 sera and cerebrospinal fluid samples of AES patients were screened by West Nile virus antigen, there were no positive result was confirmed with this antigen. To date, JE virus is leading cause of AES in Vietnam, with over 80% cases in children under 15 years old. It should be intensive JE vaccination for all children under 15 years old in order to control JE soon.
Encephalitis, Japanese, West Nile virus

Antibodies, Viral ; isolation & purification ; China ; Humans ; West Nile Fever ; immunology ; West Nile virus ; immunology

West Nile encephalitis was first identified in 1937, but until now, it was never diagnosed in Korea. A 58-yr-old Korean man was admitted with headache and cognitive dysfunction. The patient had been on a business trip in Guinea. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed pleocytosis. The patient complained of both leg weakness,and arachnoiditis and myelitis were observed on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A specific neutralizing antibody for West Nile virus was positive in serum. After a treatment with interferon-alpha 3mu, follow up CSF findings recovered completely after 3 months later. The first case of West Nile encephalitis in Korea was imported from Guinea, and was cured successfully.
Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Headache/complications ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha/*therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; West Nile Fever/*diagnosis/*drug therapy ; West Nile virus/immunology

West Nile encephalitis was first identified in 1937, but until now, it was never diagnosed in Korea. A 58-yr-old Korean man was admitted with headache and cognitive dysfunction. The patient had been on a business trip in Guinea. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed pleocytosis. The patient complained of both leg weakness,and arachnoiditis and myelitis were observed on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A specific neutralizing antibody for West Nile virus was positive in serum. After a treatment with interferon-alpha 3mu, follow up CSF findings recovered completely after 3 months later. The first case of West Nile encephalitis in Korea was imported from Guinea, and was cured successfully.
Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Headache/complications ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha/*therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; West Nile Fever/*diagnosis/*drug therapy ; West Nile virus/immunology

In view of that there is no report of west Nile virus infection cases in our country, evaluation the self-prepared anti-WNV-IgG diagnostic ELISA kit should be employed with the establishment of the serum sample panel collected from the entry personnel. All individuals of entry personnel were traveled from epidemic area of infectious west Nile disease. In our study, the serum samples were both detected by self-prepared anti-WNV-IgG diagnostic ELISA kit and the FDA certified kits ,which are FOCUS West Nile Virus IgG Dxselect and Panbio Dengue IgG Capture ELISA kits. The self-prepared kit and FDA certified kits were compared and assessed simultaneously. Furthermore, the specificity, repeatability and stability of the kits were also evaluated. The results indicated that no significant difference of detective rates (35. 6% for self-prepared kit vs. 32.5% for FOCUS kit, χ2 = 3. 05, P > 0.05) and good consistency (Kappa = 0.8372) between the self-prepared kit and FDA certified kits. Also, the positive coincidence rate, the negative coincidence rate and the total coincidence rate were calculated as 91.18%, 95.34% and 92.66%, respectively. The laboratory self-developed kit presented similar quality as the counterpart kits with FDA certificate. The development of our self-prepared anti-WNV-IgG diagnostic ELISA kit will provide technical support for the prevention and control of west Nile virus entry.
Endemic Diseases ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; West Nile Fever ; epidemiology ; West Nile virus ; immunology

West Nile virus (WNV) is the most widespread arbovirus in the world. It can cause serious or fatal central nervous system (CNS) infection. We present a case of 58-year-old man who developed neuropsychologic and psychiatric impairment such as cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, health concerns and thought disorder after West Nile virus encephalitis. This is the first imported case of West Nile virus infection in Korean.
Arboviruses ; Central Nervous System ; Depression ; Encephalitis* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; West Nile virus*

Viral replicon is a kind of self-replicating viral RNA sourced from viral genome, which contains viral non-structural genes that are critical for viral genome replication with structural proteins deleted or replaced by foreign genes. Kunjin virus is a member of the Flavivirida family, Flavivirus genus, and Kunjin virus replicon is the first and the clearly defined flavivirus replicon. Kunjun virus replicon has been regarded as an excellent viral vector on account of its high expression, lower cytotoxicity and genetic stability. These unique characteristics of kunjin virus replicons make them suitable for the study of viral genome replication, recombinant proteins production, vaccine development and gene therapy. In this article, recent progress in the development, properties and applications of kunjin virus replicon system was briefly reviewed.
Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Genome, Viral ; Recombination, Genetic ; Replicon ; genetics ; Virus Replication ; physiology ; West Nile virus ; genetics ; metabolism

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen that has spread throughout Europe and the United States. Recently, WNV spread to East and Southeast Asia, and great efforts have been made in South Korea to prevent the spread of WNV from neighboring countries. In this study, we diagnosed the first case of WNV in pigeons (Columba livia domestica) residing in cities using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed it with nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis and sequencing. This is the first report to provide convincing evidence that WNV is present within South Korea.
Asia, Southeastern ; Columbidae* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Europe ; Korea* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; United States ; West Nile virus*

Acute viral encephalitis caused by neurotrophic viruses, such as mosquito-borne flaviviruses, is an emerging and re-emerging disease that represents an immense global health problem. Considerable progression has been made in understanding the pathogenesis of acute viral encephalitis, but the immune-pathological processes occurring during the progression of encephalitis and the roles played by various molecules and cellular components of the innate and adaptive systems still remain undefined. Recent findings reveal the significant contribution of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and regulatory CD4+ T cells in the outcomes of infectious diseases caused by neurotrophic viruses. In this review, we discuss the ample evidence focused on the roles of TLRs and CD4+ helper T cell subsets on the progression of acute viral encephalitis. Finally, we draw attention to the importance of these molecules and cellular components in defining the pathogenesis of acute viral encephalitis, thereby providing new therapeutic avenues for this disease.
Communicable Diseases ; Dengue Virus ; Encephalitis ; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese ; Encephalitis, Viral ; Flavivirus ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; T-Lymphocytes ; Toll-Like Receptors ; West Nile virus