Evidence for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Infections in Wild and Resident Birds in Germany, 2017 and 2018
Friederike Michel,
Michael Sieg,
Dominik Fischer,
Markus Keller,
Martin Eiden,
Maximilian Reuschel,
Volker Schmidt,
Rebekka Schwehn,
Monika Rinder,
Sylvia Urbaniak,
Kerstin Müller,
Martina Schmoock,
Renke Lühken,
Patrick Wysocki,
Christine Fast,
Michael Lierz,
Rüdiger Korbel,
Thomas W. Vahlenkamp,
Martin H. Groschup,
Ute Ziegler
Affiliations
Friederike Michel
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
Michael Sieg
Institute of Virology (Faculty of veterinary medicine), Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 29, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
Dominik Fischer
Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Straße 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
Markus Keller
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
Martin Eiden
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
Maximilian Reuschel
Clinic for Small Mammals, Reptiles and Birds, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bünteweg 9, D-30559 Hannover, Germany
Volker Schmidt
Clinic for Birds and Reptiles (Faculty of veterinary medicine), Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 17, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
Rebekka Schwehn
Clinic for Small Mammals, Reptiles and Birds, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bünteweg 9, D-30559 Hannover, Germany
Monika Rinder
Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Sonnenstraße 18, D-85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
Sylvia Urbaniak
Birds of Prey Rehab Center Rhineland (Greifvogelhilfe Rheinland)/Tierarztpraxis Sudhoff, Hehnerholt 105, D-41069 Mönchengladbach, Germany
Kerstin Müller
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19 b, D-14163 Berlin, Germany
Martina Schmoock
Wildpark Schwarze Berge GmbH & Co. KG, Am Wildpark 1, D-21224 Rosengarten, Germany
Renke Lühken
Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Bernhardt-Nocht Straße 74, D-20359 Hamburg, Germany
Patrick Wysocki
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Christine Fast
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
Michael Lierz
Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Straße 91, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
Rüdiger Korbel
Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Sonnenstraße 18, D-85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
Thomas W. Vahlenkamp
Institute of Virology (Faculty of veterinary medicine), Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 29, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
Martin H. Groschup
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
Ute Ziegler
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
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.
