Evidencia serológica del Virus del Nilo Occidental en equinos (Equus caballus), en el área natural protegida laguna El Jocotal, departamento de San Miguel, El Salvador

Abstract

The following research was carried out in horses from the natural protected area: laguna El Jocotal, Ramsar place (included in the list of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) from San Miguel, El Salvador. In the descriptive study all animals were included, equivalent to a population of 91 horses located in 29 productive units within a perimeter of 5 kms around the main wetland of natural and seasonal pools of water at laguna El Jocotal and laguna Agua Caliente. The field phase took place from September to December 2015. The blood samples were obtained by puncture in the jugular vein, the blood was separated from the serum and kept refrigerated. Samples were processed at the Red de Laboratorios Veterinarios del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) de El Salvador, analyzed by blocking immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the purpose of serologically detection of the presence or absence of specific antibodies of West Nile virus (WNV). The first evidence of WNV activity in horses at the Ramsar site was found one of the highest seroprevalences in Latin America with 89.01% of 4.40% seronegative horses and 6.59% suspect horses. There are several factors to take into account in the finding obtained, among them the diagnostic test used, the proximity of equine populations within the identified risk areas and the geographic area of study. The geographical distribution of the susceptible equine population was established by using the global positioning system (GPS) and maps using ArcGIS software. Furthermore, the epidemiological data will be available for further research to be used as resources to attend issues on public health, animal, and environmental health.