Dogs as sentinels for West Nile virus? Iasi, Romania exposure

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) is an important zoonotic flavivirus responsible for mild fever to severe, lethal neuroinvasive disease in humans, horses, birds, and other wildlife species. Since its discovery, WNV has caused multiple human and animal disease outbreaks in all continents, except Antarctica. Infections are associated with economic losses, mainly due to the cost of treatment of infected patients, control programmes, and loss of animals and animal products. This cross-sectional study explored the feasibility of domestic dogs as sentinels to better understand risks of mosquito-borne diseases in Iasi city.