Isolation of saint louis encephalitis virus from a horse with neurological disease in Brazil.

• Published in: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Roberta Rosa, Erica Azevedo Costa, Rafael Elias Marques, Taismara Simas Oliveira, Ronaldo Furtini, Maria Rosa Quaresma Bomfim, Mauro Martins Teixeira, Tatiane Alves Paixão, Renato Lima Santos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic; St. Louis
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002537; https://doaj.org/article/7c126646a3c84c6391b676c528e0682a

St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a causative agent of encephalitis in humans in the Western hemisphere. SLEV is a positive-sense RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirus genus, which includes West Nile encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Dengue virus and other medically important viruses. Recently, we isolated a SLEV strain from the brain of a horse with neurological signs in the countryside of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The SLEV isolation was confirmed by reverse-transcription RT-PCR and sequencing of the E protein gene. Virus identity was also confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence using commercial antibodies against SLEV. To characterize this newly isolated strain in vivo, serial passages in newborn mice were performed and led to hemorrhagic manifestations associated with recruitment of inflammatory cells into the central nervous system of newborns. In summary this is the first isolation of SLEV from a horse with neurological signs in Brazil.