Journal article

West Nile virus RNA not detected in urine of 40 people tested 6 years after acute West Nile virus disease

KB Gibney, RS Lanciotti, JJ Sejvar, CT Nugent, JM Linnen, MJ Delorey, JA Lehman, EN Boswell, JE Staples, M Fischer

Journal of Infectious Diseases | OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC | Published : 2011

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) causes an acute infection that is usually cleared by an effective immune response after several days of viremia. However, a recent study detected WNV RNA in the urine of 5 of 25 persons (20%) tested several years after their initial acute WNV disease. We evaluated an established cohort of 40 persons >6 years after initial infection with WNV. Urine collected from all participants tested negative for WNV RNA by reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction and transcription-mediated amplification. Prospective studies are needed to determine if and for how long WNV persists in urine following WNV disease.

University of Melbourne Researchers