Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of West Nile virus lineage 1 and lineage 2 from human cases of infection, Italy, August 2013

L Barzon; M Pacenti; E Franchin; E Lavezzo; G Masi; L Squarzon; S Pagni; S Toppo; F Russo; M Cattai; R Cusinato; G Palù

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.38.20591

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Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of West Nile virus lineage 1 and lineage 2 from human cases of infection, Italy, August 2013
L Barzon^1,2 , M Pacenti² , E Franchin^1,2 , E Lavezzo¹ , G Masi¹ , L Squarzon¹ , S Pagni^1,2 , S Toppo¹ , F Russo³ , M Cattai² , R Cusinato² , G Palù^1,2
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Affiliations: ¹ Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy ² Regional Reference Laboratory, Microbiology and Virology Unit, Padova University Hospital, Padova, Italy ³ Department of Public Health and Screening, Veneto Region, Venice, Italy

Correspondence:
L Barzon
luisa.barzon unipd.it
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Citation style for this article: Barzon L, Pacenti M, Franchin E, Lavezzo E, Masi G, Squarzon L, Pagni S, Toppo S, Russo F, Cattai M, Cusinato R, Palù G. Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of West Nile virus lineage 1 and lineage 2 from human cases of infection, Italy, August 2013. Euro Surveill. 2013;18(38):pii=20591. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.38.20591 Received: 31 Aug 2013

Abstract

A human outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infection caused by WNV lineage 2 is ongoing in northern Italy. Analysis of six WNV genome sequences obtained from clinical specimens demonstrated similarities with strains circulating in central Europe and Greece and the presence of unique amino acid changes that identify a new viral strain. In addition, WNV lineage 1 Livenza, responsible for a large outbreak in north-eastern Italy in 2012, was fully sequenced from a blood donor during this 2013 outbreak.