First Detection of West Nile Virus (WNV) Lineage 2 in Mosquitoes in the Republic of Kosovo

Title (eng)
First Detection of West Nile Virus (WNV) Lineage 2 in Mosquitoes in the Republic of Kosovo
Author
Ina Hoxha
Author
Karin Sekulin
Author
Maria S. Unterköfler
Author
Lisa Stefanie Schlamadinger
Author
Tanto Situmorang
Author
Hans-Peter Fuehrer
Author
Adelheid G. Obwaller
Author
Jeremy V. Camp
Author
Julia Walochnik
Author
Kurtesh Sherifi
Author
Edwin Kniha
Author
Betim Xhekaj
Author
Nesade Muja-Bajraktari
Abstract (eng)
West Nile virus (WNV, family Flaviviridae) is the most geographically widespread arbovirus affecting humans. It circulates between wild birds and mosquitoes, while humans and horses are dead-end hosts. In recent years, several outbreaks have been reported from European countries, including the Balkan Peninsula. In the Republic of Kosovo, a southern Balkan country, data on WNV are scarce, and neither mosquito monitoring nor WNV surveillance is established. To address this gap, we aimed to assess a first monitoring approach that should set the basis and support future large-scale activities in the country. Mosquito sampling was performed from May to September 2022 in a peri-urban area in the western part of the capital city Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo. Collected mosquitoes were pooled, homogenized, and total nucleic acid was extracted. A WNV-DENV-ZIKV-specific multiplex RT-qPCR was applied, and WNV-positive samples were confirmed by RT-PCR and whole-genome sequencing. Of 44 screened pools, one pool molecularly identified as Culex pipiens f. pipiens was positive for WNV RNA. Subsequent sequencing revealed WNV lineage 2, and phylogenetic analysis included our sample in a monophyletic clade consisting mostly of sequences from southeastern Europe. This finding represents the first detection of WNV in mosquitoes in Kosovo, and provides crucial baseline data for future vector-borne disease monitoring, and control efforts in Kosovo.
Keywords (eng)
CulexKosovoMonitoringPhylogenyWest Nile Virus
Type (eng)
journal article
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:4909
DOI
10.1155/tbed/3208806
Is in series
Title (eng)
Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
Volume
2025
Issue
1
ISSN
1865-1674
Issued
2025
Number of pages
8
Publication
Wiley
Version type (eng)
version of record (published version)
Date issued
2025
Access rights (eng)
open access
License
CC BY 4.0 International
Rights statement (eng)
Copyright © 2025 Ina Hoxha et al.