A new cluster of West Nile virus lineage 1 isolated from a northern goshawk in Spain

West Nile Virus (WNV; family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus) is a zoonotic arbovirus worldwide spread. Its genetic diversity has allowed the definition of at least seven lineages, being lineages 1 and 2 the most widely distributed. Western Mediterranean region has been affected by WNV since decades. In Spain, WNV is actively circulating, provoking annual outbreaks in birds, horses and lately in humans. Lineage 1 is responsible for outbreaks that occurred in central and southern regions, while lineage 2 has been recently described in wild birds in north-eastern part of the country. During 2017 season, a disease outbreak in captive raptors was reported in southern Spain and WNV was isolated from a dead northern goshawk. Full genome sequencing was followed by phylogenetic analyses and analyses of the amino acidic substitutions. This strain, named Spain/2017/NG-b, highly differs from those which have been circulating both in Spain and in the neighbouring Mediterranean countries, constituting a new distinct group, tentatively classified in a newly defined cluster 7 within the WNV clade 1a, supporting a new, independent introduction of the virus in the Western Mediterranean region from an unknown origin. Besides, circumstantial evidence indicates that this emerging WNV strain could be behind the subsequent outbreak occurred nearby in horses. Overall, the reinforcement of surveillance programs, especially in wild birds, is essential to early detect the circulation of WNV and other related flaviviruses that could cause outbreaks in wild or domestic birds, equine and human populations.
This study was supported by the Spanish INIA-MAPA agreement EG17-141 and by the INIA grant E-RTA2015-00002-C02-00.