Parasites and wildlife in a changing world: The vector-host- pathogen interaction as a learning case

Rizzoli, Annapaola; Tagliapietra, Valentina; Cagnacci, Francesca; Marini, Giovanni; Arnoldi, Daniele; Rosso, Fausta; Rosà, Roberto

WNV is a neurotropic mosquito-borne virus belonging to the Flavivirus genus and Japanese encephalitis virus serogroup which was firstly isolated in Uganda in 1937 and that currently has reached a widespread distribution throughout the world. WNV is transmitted by mosquitoes, with a wide variety of bird species acting as natural reservoir hosts, amplifying the virus. WNV can also affect a range of vertebrate species, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals. It is particularly pathogenic in humans and horses, which act as 'dead-end hosts' as they do not develop viraemia levels sufficiently high to efficiently transmit the virus to a new vector (Pérez-Ramírez et al., 2017) .