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.
German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Luebeck-Borstel, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Viruses. 2019 Jul 23;11(7):674. doi: 10.3390/v11070674.
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.
野生鸟类作为动物源虫媒病毒的储存宿主和传播媒介，发挥着重要作用，并促进了这些病毒的传播。自 2011 年以来，西尼罗河病毒（WNV）一直在德国流行，而 2018 年，几种鸟类和马首次被诊断出感染了乌苏图病毒（USUV）。2017 年和 2018 年，我们使用实时聚合酶链反应和血清学检测方法对 1709 只野生和动物园鸟类进行了筛查。此外，还对 2017 年提交的鸟类尸体的器官样本进行了调查。总的来说，57 份活鸟血样（2017 年和 2018 年）和 100 份死鸟器官样本（2017 年）检测出 USUV-RNA 阳性，而未发现 WNV-RNA 阳性样本。系统进化分析显示，德国首次检测到 USUV 欧洲 2 谱系，USUV 欧洲 3 和非洲 3 谱系向德国北部传播。2017 年，德国东部的 USUV 抗体阳性率较高。相反，2018 年在德国北部首次检测到高血清阳性率，表明该地区首次出现 USUV。有趣的是，2018 年在德国东部的留鸟和短距离候鸟中观察到高浓度的 WNV 特异性中和抗体滴度，表明出现了WNV 局部传播的迹象。
