GHTM

Global Health and Tropical Medicine

  • GHTM
    • About GHTM
    • Governance
    • Impact
    • Members
      • Population health, policies and services
        • PPS PhD members
        • PPS non PhD members
      • TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
        • THOP PhD members
        • THOP non PhD members
      • Vector-borne diseases
        • VBD PhD members
        • VBD non PhD members
      • Individual Health Care
        • IHC PhD members
        • IHC non PhD members
      • Tech & Admin support
    • Scientific Advisory Board
    • Reports
      • GHTM
      • Scientific Advisory Board
      • FCT
  • Research
    • Cross-cutting issues
      • Global Pathogen Dispersion and Population Mobility
      • Drug Discovery and Drug Resistance
      • Diagnostics
      • Public Health Information
      • Fair Research Partnerships
    • Research Groups
      • PPS – Population health, policies and services
      • THOP – TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
      • VBD – Vector borne diseases
      • IHC – Individual health care
    • Research in numbers
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
    • Projects
      • Ongoing Projects
      • Completed Projects
  • Outreach
    • Events
    • News
    • Policy Support & Community Outreach
  • Publications
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
  • Capacity Building
    • Education
      • Master Theses
      • PhD Theses
    • International
  • Infrastructures
  • Networks & Partnerships
Home / News / GHTM Researchers Publish Study on West Nile Virus Spread in Portugal

GHTM Researchers Publish Study on West Nile Virus Spread in Portugal

March 19, 2025

Professor Ricardo Parreira (VBD – Vector borne diseases) and Dr. Sofia Seabra (THOP – TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens), researchers at GHTM | IHMT-NOVA, participated in a recently published study in the Microorganisms journal, which analyzed the spread and genetic characterization of a strain of the West Nile Virus (WNV) in Portugal.

The study was led by Dr. Sílvia Santos-Barros from INIAV – National Agricultural and Veterinary Research Laboratory, with Diogo Maroco, a student from the Medical Microbiology Master’s program at NOVA, as the first author.

The research focused on a strain from the WNV lineage 1a, isolated from a wild bird – Astur gentilis – collected in mainland Portugal in September 2024. The results suggest that this strain originated in Africa and reached Portugal via the Spanish coast of Cádiz, confirming previously described patterns of the virus’s dispersion between Africa and Western Europe.

West Nile Virus was first detected in humans in Portugal in 2004, when two Irish ornithologists were infected during a trip to the Algarve. Since then, most records of WNV circulation in the country have been based on the detection of immunoglobulin M in horses, without the virus being isolated, which has hindered its characterization. However, through collaboration between research groups, several virus isolates have been obtained from mosquitoes, allowing for a more detailed study.

This new study provides a deeper understanding of the WNV circulation between Africa and Western Europe, offering updated data for future research on the spread of lineage 1a strains and highlighting the importance of ongoing epidemiological surveillance strategies.

Read the full article here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

About GHTM

GHTM is a R&D Unit that brings together researchers with a track record in Tropical Medicine and International & Global Health. It aims at strengthening Portugal's role as a leading partner in the development and implementation of a global health research agenda. Our evidence-based interventions contribute to the promotion of equity in health and to improve the health of populations.

Contacts

Rua da Junqueira, 100
1349-008 Lisboa
Portugal

+351 213 652 600

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Map

  • Events
  • Research Groups
  • Cross-cutting issues
© Copyright 2025 IHMT-UNL All Rights Reserved.
  • Universidade Nova de Lisboa
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

    UIDB/04413/2020
    UIDP/04413/2020

 

Loading Comments...
 

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok