West Nile Virus Seroprevalence Under Bird Ringers

Prevalence of West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Serum Antibodies in Dutch Bird Ringers

In August 2020, West Nile Virus (WNV) was isolated from a live common whitethroat for the first time in The Netherlands. Follow-up sampling showed that the virus could also be detected in mosquitos from the same location during at least a whole month of sampling. On 15 October 2020, one case of West Nile virus infection has been reported in a man who was likely infected in the Utrecht region. This is the first time that a locally acquired human case of WNV infection has been reported in The Netherlands. Six additional cases have been identified, one of which from the region Arnhem. West Nile virus infection is a mosquito-borne zoonosis. The disease, which has spread across the Northern Hemisphere in the past three decades, is now found on an annual basis in many European countries where the centre of gravity lies in Southern-European countries. Recently, WNV was reported for the first time in Germany. The virus is transmitted among birds through the bite of infected mosquitoes and incidentally infects humans and other mammals, such as horses. Around 80% of human WNV infections are asymptomatic. The most common clinical presentation is West Nile fever but, older people and immunocompromised persons are at higher risk of developing neuro-invasive disorders (West Nile neuroinvasive disease). Currently, there are no prophylaxis or specific treatment against the disease in humans. In addition, Usutu virus (USUV) was detected in The Netherlands in 2016. USUV is another flavivirus, related to WNV, and also capable of infecting humans. Disease associated with USUV infection in humans appears to be milder and only limited number of cases have been identified. During their bird catching activities, bird ringers are intensively exposed to mosquito bites at the natural habitat of the birds and at the same time of the day when mosquitoes are particularly active. The aim of this study is therefore to determine the prevalence of WNV and USUV serum antibodies in bird ringers in The Netherlands.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: West Nile Virus

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 162

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Netherlands
  • Leiden, Netherlands
    • Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Bird ringers from the Netherlands (about 580 licensed ringers and about 100 additional trainees or helpers)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Carrying-out bird ringing activities during spring, summer or early autumn 2020 in The Netherlands

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not willing to participate in this study
• Using medication interfering with antibodies production
• Under 18 years of age

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
The proportion of individuals with neutralising antibodies against WNV by region	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021
The proportion of individuals with neutralising antibodies against USUV by region	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
The proportion of individuals with IgM antibodies against WNV	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021
The proportion of individuals with IgG antibodies against WNV	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021
The proportion of individuals with IgM antibodies against USUV	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021
The proportion of individuals with IgG antibodies against USUV	One blood sample collected between June and September 2021

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Leiden University Medical Center
• Collaborators: UMC Utrecht; Erasmus Medical Center; Leiden University; Netherlands Institute of Ecology
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Chiara de Bellegarde, LUMC

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Sikkema RS, Schrama M, van den Berg T, Morren J, Munger E, Krol L, van der Beek JG, Blom R, Chestakova I, van der Linden A, Boter M, van Mastrigt T, Molenkamp R, Koenraadt CJ, van den Brand JM, Oude Munnink BB, Koopmans MP, van der Jeugd H. Detection of West Nile virus in a common whitethroat (Curruca communis) and Culex mosquitoes in the Netherlands, 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020 Oct;25(40):2001704. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.40.2001704. Erratum In: Euro Surveill. 2020 Oct;25(43):
• Ziegler U, Santos PD, Groschup MH, Hattendorf C, Eiden M, Hoper D, Eisermann P, Keller M, Michel F, Klopfleisch R, Muller K, Werner D, Kampen H, Beer M, Frank C, Lachmann R, Tews BA, Wylezich C, Rinder M, Lachmann L, Grunewald T, Szentiks CA, Sieg M, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Cadar D, Luhken R. West Nile Virus Epidemic in Germany Triggered by Epizootic Emergence, 2019. Viruses. 2020 Apr 15;12(4):448. doi: 10.3390/v12040448.
• Gaibani P, Rossini G. An overview of Usutu virus. Microbes Infect. 2017 Jul-Aug;19(7-8):382-387. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2017.05.003. Epub 2017 Jun 8.
• Rijks JM, Kik ML, Slaterus R, Foppen R, Stroo A, IJzer J, Stahl J, Grone A, Koopmans M, van der Jeugd HP, Reusken C. Widespread Usutu virus outbreak in birds in the Netherlands, 2016. Euro Surveill. 2016 Nov 10;21(45):30391. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2016.21.45.30391.
• Oude Munnink BB, Munger E, Nieuwenhuijse DF, Kohl R, van der Linden A, Schapendonk CME, van der Jeugd H, Kik M, Rijks JM, Reusken CBEM, Koopmans M. Genomic monitoring to understand the emergence and spread of Usutu virus in the Netherlands, 2016-2018. Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 18;10(1):2798. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59692-y.

Helpful Links

• Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Eerste patiënt in Nederland met westnijlvirus
• European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Factsheet about West Nile fever [Internet]. Stockholm: ECDC; 2020
• Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Westnijlkoorts

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 28, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 22, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 14, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 24, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2022
• Last Verified: March 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Virus Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: P20.112

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No