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Updated: Mar 26, 2026

In Vitro Analysis of Myd88-mediated Cellular Immune Response to West Nile Virus Mutant Strain Infection
Published on: November 27, 2014
Chronic West Nile virus infection in kea (Nestor notabilis)
Tamás Bakonyi1, Gyula K Gajdon2, Raoul Schwing2
1Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria; Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, Hungária krt. 23-25, 1143 Budapest, Hungary.
Abstract:
Six kea (Nestor notabilis) in human care, naturally infected with West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 2 in Vienna, Austria, in 2008, developed mild to fatal neurological signs. WNV RNA persisted and the virus evolved in the birds' brains, as demonstrated by (phylo)genetic analyses of the complete viral genomes detected in kea euthanized between 2009 and 2014. WNV antibodies persisted in the birds, too. Chronic WNV infection in the brain might contribute to the circulation of the virus through oral transmission to predatory birds.
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