Citation
Abstract
In March 2025, as part of ongoing enhanced surveillance for mosquito-borne Orthoflaviviruses, West Nile virus (WNV) RNA was detected in two pools of female Aedes vexans collected in July 2023 in Nottinghamshire, England. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of a 402 bp fragment indicate clustering with WNV lineage 1a. The exact origin of this virus remains unclear, but this finding indicates a historic WNV presence in the United Kingdom. Surveillance has not provided evidence of further WNV transmission to date
Staff author(s)
This research was funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) through Vector-Borne RADAR (Real-time Arbovirus Detection And Response) (grant no: BB/X017990/1). While additional funding was provided by DEFRA and the Scottish and Welsh Governments through project SV3045. AAC and BL were funded by Research England.