Weissenböck Herbert, Kolodziejek Jolanta, Fragner Karin, Kuhn Roland, Pfeffer Martin, Nowotny Norbert
Institute of Pathology and Forensic Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Microbes Infect. 2003 Oct;5(12):1132-6. doi: 10.1016/s1286-4579(03)00204-1.
Usutu virus (USUV), a member of the mosquito-borne clade within the Flaviviridae family, was responsible for avian mortality in Austria in 2001. In 2002, the virus continued to kill birds, predominantly blackbirds. High numbers of avian deaths were recorded within the city of Vienna and in surrounding districts of the federal state of Lower Austria, while single die-offs were noticed in the federal states of Styria and Burgenland. A total of 72 birds were submitted for laboratory examination, 30 of which tested positive for USUV by immunohistochemistry and/or polymerase chain reaction. Laboratory-confirmed cases of USUV infection originated from the federal states of Vienna and Lower Austria only. The data show that (i) USUV has managed to overwinter and has been able to establish a transmission cycle in Austria, (ii) the virus seems to have become a resident pathogen of Austria with a tendency to spread to other geographic areas, and (iii) the surveillance of dead blackbirds is a useful sentinel system for monitoring USUV activity.
乌苏图病毒（USUV）是黄病毒科中由蚊子传播的进化枝成员，于2001年在奥地利导致鸟类死亡。2002年，该病毒继续致使鸟类死亡，主要是黑鹂。在维也纳市和下奥地利联邦州周边地区记录到大量鸟类死亡，而在施蒂利亚州和布尔根兰州联邦州也发现了个别死亡事件。总共72只鸟被送交实验室检查，其中30只通过免疫组织化学和/或聚合酶链反应检测出USUV呈阳性。实验室确诊的USUV感染病例仅来自维也纳和下奥地利联邦州。数据表明：（i）USUV成功越冬并在奥地利建立了传播循环；（ii）该病毒似乎已成为奥地利的常驻病原体，并有向其他地理区域传播的趋势；（iii）对死亡黑鹂的监测是监测USUV活动的有用哨兵系统。
