Abstracto
- Viruses of the genus Alphavirus and Flavivirus can cause febrile illness and in some cases, neurological disease in both humans and animals. West Nile Virus (WNV), Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV), Western Equine Encephalitis Virus (WEEV) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEEV) are endemic in the Mesoamerican region and the local appearance of these viruses is regulated by the amount of vectors and reservoirs. The objective of this research was to establish the etiologic agents associated with the presentation of arboviral neurological disease in horses of Costa Rica during 2009-2014 and to establish the seroprevalence of these arbovirus in a representative sample of horses nationwide. 141 outbreaks of neurological disease in horses were studied and a total of 201 serum samples were analyzed by IgM capture ELISA resulting in the diagnosis of 4 cases of EEEV, 79 cases of VEEV and 11 cases of WNV. Besides the national seroepidemiological study of 246 sera by ELISA IgG reflects the following prevalences: 57% WNV, EEEV 62%, VEEV 43% and WEEV 17% reflecting the wide dissemination of these arboviruses in Costa Rica.