First evidence of exposure to West Nile Virus in horses within Denmark, 2025
A nationwide serological screening of 822 horses was conducted in Autumn 2025 to investigate potential exposure to West Nile Virus (WNV) within Denmark. Serum samples were tested for antibodies against WNV, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and Usutu virus (USUV). Four horses without any history of travel outside of Denmark, or previous vaccination against WNV, tested positive for WNV neutralising antibodies. The results support local exposure to WNV indicating that virus infected mosquitoes have been present in Denmark and underline the usefulness of horses as sentinels for the risk of human exposure.
Authors
- Lars Erik Larsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0730-5555)
- Camille Victoire Migné (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7526-6303)
- Louise Lohse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6769-5447)
- Ann Sofie Olesen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6161-3439)
- Gaëlle Gonzalez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4805-7316)
- Laura Vebæk Gelskov
- Pia Ryt-Hansen
- Camilla E. Kallehauge-Larsen
- Sanni Hansen
Institutions
- Statens Serum Institut (DK)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- NeuroDiderot (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- One Health
- Published
- 2026-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101505
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00