Santos Pauline Dianne, Michel Friederike, Wylezich Claudia, Höper Dirk, Keller Markus, Holicki Cora M, Szentiks Claudia A, Eiden Martin, Muluneh Aemero, Neubauer-Juric Antonie, Thalheim Sabine, Globig Anja, Beer Martin, Groschup Martin H, Ziegler Ute
Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022 Mar;69(2):776-792. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14050. Epub 2021 Mar 31.
The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) in Europe resulted in significant outbreaks leading to avifauna mortality and human infections. Both viruses have overlapping geographical, host and vector ranges, and are often co-circulating in Europe. In Germany, a nationwide bird surveillance network was established to monitor these zoonotic arthropod-borne viruses in migratory and resident birds. In this framework, co-infections with WNV and USUV were detected in six dead birds collected in 2018 and 2019. Genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analyses classified the detected WNV strains as lineage 2 and the USUV strains as lineages Africa 2 (n = 2), Africa 3 (n = 3) and Europe 2 (n = 1). Preliminary attempts to co-propagate both viruses in vitro failed. However, we successfully cultivated WNV from two animals. Further evidence for WNV-USUV co-infection was obtained by sampling live birds in four zoological gardens with confirmed WNV cases. Three snowy owls had high neutralizing antibody titres against both WNV and USUV, of which two were also positive for USUV-RNA. In conclusion, further reports of co-infections in animals as well as in humans are expected in the future, particularly in areas where both viruses are present in the vector population.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）和乌苏图病毒（USUV）在欧洲出现，导致了大规模疫情爆发，造成鸟类死亡和人类感染。这两种病毒在地理分布、宿主和传播媒介范围上存在重叠，且在欧洲常常共同传播。在德国，建立了一个全国性的鸟类监测网络，以监测这些人畜共患的节肢动物传播病毒在候鸟和留鸟中的情况。在此框架下，在2018年和2019年收集的6只死鸟中检测到了WNV和USUV的共同感染。基因组测序和系统发育分析将检测到的WNV毒株归类为2型，USUV毒株归类为非洲2型（n = 2）、非洲3型（n = 3）和欧洲2型（n = 1）。在体外共同传播这两种病毒的初步尝试失败了。然而，我们成功地从两只动物身上培养出了WNV。通过对四个有确诊WNV病例的动物园中的活鸟进行采样获得了WNV-USUV共同感染的进一步证据。三只雪鸮对WNV和USUV都有高中和抗体滴度，其中两只USUV-RNA也呈阳性。总之，预计未来动物以及人类中共同感染的报告将会增加，特别是在两种病毒都存在于媒介种群中的地区。
