West Nile virus emergence and spread in Europe found to be positively associated with agricultural activities

The spread of West Nile virus in Europe is strongly linked to agricultural activities, urbanization, and bird migration, according to a modelling study published January 25, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Lu Lu from the University of Edinburgh, UK, and collaborators belonging to a large European collaborative consortium under the VEO (Versatile Emerging infectious disease Observatory) project. West Nile virus outbreaks have occurred in birds (the natural hosts and reservoirs for the virus), livestock, and humans across Europe—however, the virus behaves differently in Europe compared to the US. To better understand the evolution and spread of West Nile virus in Europe specifically, Dr Lu and colleagues used data gathered over the past twenty years from virus genomes and epidemiology studies as well as environmental surveys to generate a series of models that could simulate West Nile virus patterns across European geography. The authors found that one specific sub-lineage of the...