Published Date: 2002-07-22 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Usutu virus, emergence in Europe
Archive Number: 20020722.4838

USUTU VIRUS, EMERGENCE IN EUROPE
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Date: Mon 22 Jul 2002
From: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish@compuserve.com>
Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 8, No.7, July, 2002 [edited]
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol8no7/02-0094.htm>

Appearance of _Usutu virus_ in Central Europe
---------------------------------------------
In a paper in the July issue of the journal Emerging Infectious
Diseases, Herbert Weissenboeck and colleagues reported that in
Austria during late summer 2001, a series of deaths in several
species of birds occurred, similar to the beginning of the _West Nile
virus_ (WNV) epidemic in the United States. The dead birds were
examined by various methods; pathologic and immunohistologic
investigations suggested a WNV-like infection.
Subsequently, the virus was isolated, identified, partially
sequenced, and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The isolates
exhibited 97 percent identity to _Usutu virus_ (USUV), a
mosquito-borne virus of the Japanese encephalitis virus group of the
genus _Flavivirus_; USUV had not previously been observed outside
Africa nor associated with fatal disease in animals or humans. The
authors suggest that if established in central Europe, this virus may
have considerable effects on avian populations; whether USUV has the
potential to cause severe human disease is unknown.
USUV was isolated for the first time from mosquitoes in South Africa
in 1959 and named after a river in Swaziland, USUV was sporadically
isolated from several mosquito and bird species over the next
decades. Only 2 isolations have been reported from mammals, one from
_Praomys_ sp. (African soft-furred rats) and one from a man with
fever and rash . The virus has never been associated with severe or
fatal diseases in animals or humans, and it has never before been
observed outside tropical and subtropical Africa. From the beginning
of Aug through mid-Sep 2001, a considerable die-off of Eurasian
Blackbirds (_Turdus merula_) was observed in and around Vienna,
Austria.
Some observers reported obviously sick blackbirds, which showed signs
of apathy and ruffled plumage. Within 5 days in mid-August, 5 Great
Gray Owls (_Strix nebulosa_) died in the Tiergarten Schoenbrunn
Vienna Zoo. In addition, many dead Barn Swallows (_Hirundo rustica_)
were observed in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria, 200 km
west of Vienna (and USUV infection was confirmed by PCR diagnosis).
--
JoeParrish
<JoeParrish@compuserve.com>
[Readers are referred to the original paper for detailed discussion
of these observations. The authors hypothesize that USUV may have
been introduced to the Austrian bird population by swallows or other
migrating birds. They also suggest that as a consequence of the
introduction of USUV to Central Europe, surveillance programs for
mosquito-borne flaviviruses in general (based on virus detection in
mosquitoes and dead birds, as well as epidemiologic investigations)
should be established in Europe, like those initiated in the United
States after the first occurrence of WNV. Conversely, arbovirus
surveillance in the United States may need to take into account the
possible arrival of other mosquito-borne viruses at present
restricted to tropical regions of Africa and elsewhere. - Mod.CP]
...............cp/pg/lm
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