We report details of the first seven equine cases of confirmed West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Austria. The cases presented during summer and autumn of 2016 (n = 2), 2017 (n = 3) and 2018 (n = 2). All horses showed gait abnormalities and 6 of 7 horses exhibited fasciculations and/or tremors, and we provide video recordings of these. Three horses also showed cranial nerve involvement. Following rapid improvement, three horses were discharged. Four horses were euthanized due to the severity of clinical signs and subjected to neuropathological examination. West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 2 nucleic acid was detected in 5 of 7 horses, and WNV-specific neutralizing antibodies in all 7 horses. In addition, serologic evidence of WNV infection was found in two out of fourteen in-contact horses. Horses may be considered a sentinel species for human WNV infections, integrating human and veterinary medicine and thus contributing to the one health concept.

中文翻译：

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欧洲出现西尼罗河病毒谱系2：奥地利马匹出现的前7例西尼罗河神经侵袭性疾病的特征。

我们报告了奥地利确诊的西尼罗河神经浸润性疾病的前七匹马病例的详细信息。2016年夏季和秋季（n = 2），2017（n = 3）和2018（n = 2）期间出现的病例。所有马匹均显示步态异常，每7匹马中有6匹表现出束缚和/或震颤，我们提供了这些录像。三匹马还显示出颅神经受累。经过迅速的改善，三匹马出院了。由于临床症状的严重程度，对四匹马实施了安乐死并进行了神经病理学检查。在7匹马中的5匹中检测到西尼罗河病毒（WNV）谱系2核酸，在所有7匹马中检测到WNV特异性中和抗体。此外，在14头接触马中有2头发现了WNV感染的血清学证据。