Epizootic emergence of Usutu virus in wild and captive birds in Germany

摘要

Background: Usutu virus (USUV) is an arthropod-borne, single-stranded RNA virus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis virus group within the family Flaviviridae. USUV is closely related to West Nile virus, which killed thousands of birds in North America following its emergence in 1999. In 2001, USUV caused deaths in Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Great Grey Owls (Strix nebulosa) in Austria. Two human cases with an USUV-related neuroinvasive illness were reported from Italy. In August 2010, USUV strain 1477 was isolated from a pool of Culex pipiens pipiens mosquitoes that were trapped in southwest Germany.