Evidence for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Infections in Wild and Resident Birds in Germany, 2017 and 2018

Viruses

Renke Lühken¹  Patrick Wysocki²  Sylvia Urbaniak³  Volker Schmidt⁴  Rüdiger Korbel⁵  Dominik Fischer⁵  Thomas W. Vahlenkamp⁶  Monika Rinder⁶  Maximilian Reuschel⁷  Rebekka Schwehn⁷  Kerstin Müller⁸  Martin Eiden⁹  Markus Keller⁹  Ute Ziegler⁹  Friederike Michel⁹  Michael Lierz⁹  Christine Fast^1,10  Martin H. Groschup^1,11  Michael Sieg^1,11  Martina Schmoock^1,12 

[1] Co. KG, Am Wildpark 1, D-21224 Rosengarten, Germany;Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Bernhardt-Nocht Straße 74, D-20359 Hamburg, Germany;Birds of Prey Rehab Center Rhineland (Greifvogelhilfe Rheinland)/Tierarztpraxis Sudhoff, Hehnerholt 105, D-41069 Mönchengladbach, Germany;Clinic for Birds and Reptiles (Faculty of veterinary medicine), Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 17, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Straße 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany;Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Sonnenstraße 18, D-85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany;Clinic for Small Mammals, Reptiles and Birds, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bünteweg 9, D-30559 Hannover, Germany;Department of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19 b, D-14163 Berlin, Germany;Friedrich-Loeffler Insitut (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Südufer 10, D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany;Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany;Institute of Virology (Faculty of veterinary medicine), Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 29, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;;Wildpark Schwarze Berge GmbH &

关键词: wild bird;    West Nile virus;    Usutu virus;    Germany;    monitoring;   

DOI  :  10.3390/v11070674

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Wild birds play an important role as reservoir hosts and vectors for zoonotic arboviruses and foster their spread. Usutu virus (USUV) has been circulating endemically in Germany since 2011, while West Nile virus (WNV) was first diagnosed in several bird species and horses in 2018. In 2017 and 2018, we screened 1709 live wild and zoo birds with real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological assays. Moreover, organ samples from bird carcasses submitted in 2017 were investigated. Overall, 57 blood samples of the live birds (2017 and 2018), and 100 organ samples of dead birds (2017) were positive for USUV-RNA, while no WNV-RNA-positive sample was found. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the first detection of USUV lineage Europe 2 in Germany and the spread of USUV lineages Europe 3 and Africa 3 towards Northern Germany. USUV antibody prevalence rates were high in Eastern Germany in both years. On the contrary, in Northern Germany, high seroprevalence rates were first detected in 2018, with the first emergence of USUV in this region. Interestingly, high WNV-specific neutralizing antibody titers were observed in resident and short-distance migratory birds in Eastern Germany in 2018, indicating the first signs of a local WNV circulation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown