There are mosquitos that transmit the West Nile virus, in Turkey
The number of people who have died from West Nile virus infection (WNVE) transmitted through mosquitoes in Turkey’s neighbor Greece has risen to 14. Prof. Dr . Salih Bulent Alten from Hacettepe University Faculty of Science Department of Biology Department of Ecology Faculty reminded that Culex mosquitoes, the most important carrier of the virus, were also common in Turkey.
BNVE is a disease that can lead to neurological diseases and death in humans, often transmitted by the sting of infected mosquitoes. The West Nile virus (BNV), which has become more widespread and caused outbreaks in Turkey and other countries in the last 10 years, was first isolated in the West Nile region in Uganda in 1937. In birds, it was first described in the Nile Delta in 1953. It didn’t take long for the virus to cross continents, oceans. In 1999, the BNV strain circulating in Israel and Tunisia probably reached New York through mosquitoes transported by airplanes and caused major outbreaks in the country. The largest outbreaks of the disease occurred in Greece, Israel, Romania, Russia and the USA.
The first case in Turkey detected in 2009
Still, the disease is mostly seen in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Western Asia. In the European Region and neighboring countries of Turkey, an increase in the number of cases has been detected since 2018.
In Turkey, the first case was detected in 2009. From 2010 to the present, there have been 107 cases and 15 deaths.
In the life cycle of BNV, wild birds are the main host. The period of viremia (joining the blood circulation of the virus or virus-related parts) in birds is of critical importance for mosquitoes to get the virus. Mosquitoes become infected when feeding on infected birds, during which the period of viremia lasts for several days. The virus settles in the salivary glands of mosquitoes. It is also transmitted by mosquito bites to humans, horses and some other cattle. Therefore, migratory birds and mosquitoes are effective in spreading the disease.
62 Mosquito species live in Turkey
Alten said that there were 62 mosquito species in Turkey. This is a large number. “Each species has the potential to be a vector for diseases,” Alten said. But according to our current determinations, not all of them are vectors.”
