Epidemic Spread of Usutu Virus in Southwest Germany in 2011 to 2013 and Monitoring of Wild Birds for Usutu and West Nile Viruses

Ziegler, Ute; Jöst, Hanna; Müller, Kerstin; Fischer, Dominik; Rinder, Monika; Tietze, Dieter Thomas; Danner, K; Becker, Norbert; Skuballa, Jasmin; Hamann, Hans-Peter; Bosch, Stefan; Fast, Christine; Eiden, Martin; Schmidt‐Chanasit, Jonas; Groschup, Martin H.

doi:10.1089/vbz.2014.1746

Cited by 68 publications

(76 citation statements)

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“…Additionally, other specimens were analyzed, including organs (such as brain, heart, liver, lung, kidney, and spleen) and blood from falcons [24], pheasants, blackbird, great grey owl, common kingfisher, and nearly 70 other avian species [6], as well as from mice, camels, horses, donkeys, cattle, humans, mosquitoes, and ticks. Only horse samples have caused artifacts in the RT-qPCR, showing low nonspecific signals (Cq > 33), thus effectively lowering the detection limit of RT-qPCR alone in horse samples to over 50 copies per reaction (data not shown).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Flaviviruses, such as Dengue virus (DENV) [2] and Yellow fever virus (YFV) [3], have been a common cause of devastating diseases in tropical and less developed countries, but in recent years the emergence of flaviviral zoonoses was observed worldwide. Examples include the occurrence of West Nile virus (WNV) in the United States [4], Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in Australia [5], and Usutu virus (USUV) [6], WNV [7], and DENV [2] in Europe. Recently, Zika virus (ZIKV) also expanded into Southern America, with reports of detection in Europe and USA [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both mosquito pools and (sentinel) birds are common targets of massive screening for arbovirus, particularly for flaviviruses like WNV or USUV [6, 9, 10]. Rapid virus identification and quantification are crucial for accurate diagnosis of ongoing infections, treatment selection, and follow-up, as well as for selection and timely introduction of control measures in outbreaks scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Novel Pan-FlavivirusDetection and Identification Assay Based on RT-qPCR and Microarray

Vina-Rodrı́guez

Sachse

Ziegler

et al. 2017

BioMed Research International

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The genus Flavivirus includes arthropod-borne viruses responsible for a large number of infections in humans and economically important animals. While RT-PCR protocols for specific detection of most Flavivirus species are available, there has been also a demand for a broad-range Flavivirus assay covering all members of the genus. It is particularly challenging to balance specificity at genus level with equal sensitivity towards each target species. In the present study, a novel assay combining a SYBR Green-based RT-qPCR with a low-density DNA microarray has been developed. Validation experiments confirmed that the RT-qPCR exhibited roughly equal sensitivity of detection and quantification for all flaviviruses tested. These PCR products are subjected to hybridization on a microarray carrying 84 different oligonucleotide probes that represent all known Flavivirus species. This assay has been used as a screening and confirmation tool for Flavivirus presence in laboratory and field samples, and it performed successfully in international External Quality Assessment of NAT studies. Twenty-six Flavivirus strains were tested with the assay, showing equivalent or superior characteristics compared with the original or even with species-specific RT-PCRs. As an example, test results on West Nile virus detection in a panel of 340 mosquito pool samples from Greece are presented.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Novel Pan-FlavivirusDetection and Identification Assay Based on RT-qPCR and Microarray

Vina-Rodrı́guez

Sachse

Ziegler

et al. 2017

BioMed Research International

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“…The USUV data in Germany were collected as part of a dead bird surveillance program ( 12 , 14 , 25 , 26 ). After the description of a USUV outbreak in wild birds in Germany in 2011, we requested, by press releases and media dissemination, that citizens send dead birds for USUV screening at national reference laboratories.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of Usutu Virus in Germany and Its Effect on Breeding Bird Populations

Lühken¹,

Jöst²,

Cadar³

et al. 2017

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging mosquitoborne flavivirus with an increasing number of reports from several countries in Europe, where USUV infection has caused high avian mortality rates. However, 20 years after the first observed outbreak of USUV in Europe, there is still no reliable assessment of the large-scale impact of USUV outbreaks on bird populations. In this study, we identified the areas suitable for USUV circulation in Germany and analyzed the effects of USUV on breeding bird populations. We calculated the USUV-associated additional decline of common blackbird (Turdus merula) populations as 15.7% inside USUV-suitable areas but found no significant effect for the other 14 common bird species investigated. Our results show that the emergence of USUV is a further threat for birds in Europe and that the large-scale impact on population levels, at least for common blackbirds, must be considered.

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“…12 At that time, USUV was also detected among several resident and migratory bird species in Germany, 82 and since then, the virus has been frequently found in dead birds in the southwest of the country. 83 USUV RNA-positive samples were amplified from blackbirds, thrush (Turdus sp. ), long-eared owl (Asio otus), European green woodpecker (Picus viridis), inca tern (Larosterna inca), great gray owl (S. nebulosa), and northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula) along 2012 and 2013.…”

Section: µMmentioning

confidence: 99%

Usutu virus: current knowledge and future perspectives

Saiz¹,

Blázquez²

2017

VAAT

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Abstract:The Flavivirus genus (Flaviviridae family) contains important pathogens such as yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, St Louis encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Usutu virus (USUV), Zika virus, and dengue virus, many of which constitute a worrisome threat to global human and animal health. USUV is transmitted by mosquitoes and, as any other flavivirus, is an enveloped plus-strand RNA virus. The virus was first isolated from Culex neavei mosquitoes in South Africa in 1959 near the Usutu River, from where it takes its name. Since then, the virus was confined to Africa until its first detection in Austria in 2001, although it was probably present in Europe since 1996 or even earlier. After that, USUV has spread throughout Europe, causing a considerable mortality among birds and a few neurologic cases in humans. The main USUV natural hosts are birds, but infection has also been reported in other vertebrate species, including humans. The fast spread of the virus through the continent, the relatively high mortality caused in birds, and the recent neuroinvasive human cases related to USUV infection reported in Europe have raised serious concerns about its possible consequences for public health. Here, an updated review of current knowledge about this emerging pathogen is presented. Keywords: Usutu virus, flavivirus, host cell-virus interactions, surveillance, prophylaxis Biology of the virus Molecular classification and phylogenyUsutu virus (USUV) is a member of the Flavivirus genus within the Flaviviridae family ( Figure 1A). In 2004, the complete genomic sequences of two USUV strains, one African (South Africa-1959) and one European (Vienna-2001), were used to build a phylogenetic tree. These two strains showed a 97% and 99% homology at the nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) level, respectively.1 Both strains were closely related to Murray valley encephalitis virus (73% and 82% nt and aa similarity), Japanese encephalitis virus (71% and 81% nt and aa similarity), and to West Nile virus (WNV; 68% and 75% nt and aa similarity). Nowadays, dozens of complete sequences are available in the data banks. In a recent study, the sequence identity among seven USUV strains was 96%-99% and 99% at the nt and aa levels, respectively.2 The only exception was a 1969 isolate from Central African Republic (CAR-1969) that presented homologies of 81% and 94% at the nt and aa levels with other African sequences ( Figure 1B). Due to these differences, it has been suggested that CAR-1969 formed an USUV subtype strain.3 A comparison with the original South African SAAR-1776 strain showed that the mutations found among different European and African strains were scattered throughout the genome, with some unique substitutions and some that were present

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Epidemic Spread of Usutu Virus in Southwest Germany in 2011 to 2013 and Monitoring of Wild Birds for Usutu and West Nile Viruses

Cited by 68 publications

References 31 publications

A Novel Pan-FlavivirusDetection and Identification Assay Based on RT-qPCR and Microarray

A Novel Pan-FlavivirusDetection and Identification Assay Based on RT-qPCR and Microarray

Distribution of Usutu Virus in Germany and Its Effect on Breeding Bird Populations

Usutu virus: current knowledge and future perspectives

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