Usutu virus

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Usutu virus
Systematics
Classification : Viruses
Area : Riboviria
Empire : Orthornavirae
Phylum : Kitrinoviricota
Class : Flasuviricetes
Order : Amarillovirales
Family : Flaviviridae
Genre : Flavivirus
Type : Usutu virus
Taxonomic characteristics
Genome : (+) ssRNA linear
Baltimore : Group 4
Symmetry : icosahedral
Cover : available
Scientific name
Usutu virus
Short name
USUV
Left
NCBI  Taxonomy: 64286
NCBI  Reference: AY453411.1
ICTV Taxon History: 201853117
ICTVdB Virus Code : 00.026.0.01.049

The Usutu virus ( USUV ) is a viral species of the genus Flavivirus . It is related to the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) and West Nile Virus (WNV). The Usutu virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and thus belongs to the arboviruses . Originally from Africa, it emerged in the mid-16th century and was first identified in South Africa in 1959. The name is derived from the Usutu River (also known as Maputo) in Eswatini , but the virus is not limited to this region. The virus causes infections in birds and mammals, including humans. In birds, the infection is often fatal; in humans, the infection is symptom-free or with minor discomfort in the majority of cases. Neurological symptoms and severe disease processes are rare in humans, but not excluded.

structure

Genome

The basic structure and the possible virus proteins of the Usutu virus is similar to other representatives of the genus Flavivirus . The Usutu virus belonging to the same group as the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). The genome of the Usutu virus from the Bonn virus strain consists of a single-stranded RNA with positive polarity of 11,065 nucleotides in length. At the 5 'end there is an untranslated region (UTR) of 96 nucleotides and at the 3' end there is an untranslated region of 664 nucleotides. The 5 'end has a cap structure .

Proteins

A polyprotein of 3,434 amino acids is formed from the translated area between the untranslated areas . The homology of the amino acid sequence between different strains of the Usutu virus is between 94.7% and 99.2%. From the polyprotein, three structural proteins and seven non- structural proteins are formed via proteolysis by cellular and viral proteases . The three structural proteins are the capsid protein (encoded by nucleotides 97-474), the pre-membrane / membrane protein (a membrane protein encoded by nucleotides 475-975) and the coat protein (encoded by nucleotides 976-2475). The seven non-structural proteins are NS1 (encoded by nucleotides 2476-3531), NS2a (3532-4212), NS2b (4213-4605), NS3 (4604-6462), NS4a (6463-6840), NS4b (6910-7684), and NS5 (7684-10398).

Virion

The virions (virus particles) have a diameter of about 40 to 60  nm and an icosahedral shape of the capsid , surrounded by a virus envelope .

Infection, disease course and symptoms

With birds

Male blackbird with symptoms of Usutu virus infection

Infections are asymptomatic in most birds, but blackbirds or bearded owls often have clear clinical symptoms, followed by deaths. At first, the animals often show shaggy small plumage in the neck and head area with a light discoloration, which can lead to partial or complete baldness in the head area. Apathies and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) such as staggering or turning the head also follow . The sick individuals usually die within a few days. After the discovered cases, blackbirds are particularly susceptible to disease, which is why the Usutu epidemic was sometimes also known as " blackbird dying ". However, other bird species are also infected by this virus and can then die from it.

With horses

In horses in Croatia, Italy and Serbia, only USUV-specific antibodies have so far been detected; clinical symptoms in horses have not yet occurred in Europe.

With people

In the majority of cases, the infection in humans proceeds without symptoms or with minor discomfort. In 1981 a course of infection in humans was described for the first time in the Central African Republic . Severe courses have been observed in immunocompromised and elderly patients. Typical symptoms are fever , headache and rashes . However, the virus can also cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

Distribution in Europe

First appearance in Austria

Since 2001, wild birds have died from the virus several times in Austria ("blackbird death"). In 2003 the deaths of blackbirds and isolated cases of bearded owls , blue tits , house sparrows , great tits , song thrushes and nuthatches in Vienna and the Lower Austrian districts around Vienna , Mödling , Baden , Wiener Neustadt , Neunkirchen , Bruck / Leitha , Gänserndorf , Mistelbach , Korneuburg and Tulln sure proven. In the summer of 2017, the Usutu virus was detected in 6 blood donors .

Hungary, Switzerland and Italy

From 2005 and 2006, wild birds also died from the virus in Hungary, Switzerland and Italy. Retrospective studies showed that bird deaths in Tuscany as early as 1996 were due to an infection with the Usutu virus . In the autumn of 2009, Usutu infections were diagnosed for the first time in Italy (and thus Europe) in two people who had caused meningoencephalitis .

Germany

2010

The Usutu virus was first detected in August 2010 as part of an arbovirus surveillance program by the virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit in Culex pipiens mosquitos from Weinheim .

2011 to 2016

In September 2011, the virus was detected in a dead blackbird from Birkenau in Hesse by the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Hamburg. A few days later, the virus was discovered in four blackbirds in Mannheim and in Dossenheim in Baden-Württemberg by employees of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute .

The Usutu virus does not only rely on exotic mosquitoes as a vector, but is also transmitted by native mosquito species. The mosquito's eggs and larvae also harbor the virus. If birds and other animals are bitten by infected mosquitoes, the virus can be transmitted and passed on to the next mosquito when it bites again.

In July 2012, an infected blackbird was found in Siegen , North Rhine-Westphalia , which invalidates an earlier assumption that the virus only spreads in river valleys.

In autumn 2016, the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) counted over 600 dead birds, mostly blackbirds, within two weeks. According to the NABU, the main areas of bird death were North Rhine-Westphalia, the Leipzig area , Berlin , Schleswig-Holstein and the northern part of Lower Saxony . In Germany in 2012 (south-western Germany) and in September 2016 ( Aachen ) 2 blood donors tested positive for the Usutu virus .

2018

According to the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), the virus was also detected in dead birds (mainly blackbirds) in Bremen , Hamburg and Bavaria ( Nuremberg region ) in 2018 . Around 8,881 suspected cases have been reported to the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU). The extent of the bird deaths caused by the Usutu virus thus far exceeds all previous years. Together with the BNITM, NABU is calling for sick and dead birds suspected of being Usutu to be reported online and, if necessary, to be sent in. Investigations are carried out by the BNITM, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) and veterinary examination offices. So far, over 700 of these birds have been sent to the BNITM for investigation. Of the 250 birds examined so far, 131 tested positive for the Usutu virus , including blackbirds as well as eleven birds of other species such as song thrushes , tits and finches . Even with a nuthatch and a great gray owl was Usutu virus detected.

literature

  • Sonja Chvala-Mannsberger, Tamás Bakonyi, Katharina Brugger, Norbert Nowotny, Herbert Weissenböck: Epizootiology of Usutu virus-associated bird death in Austria . In: Austrian Contributions to Veterinary Epidemiology . tape 4 , 2007, ISBN 978-3-9502042-3-0 , ISSN  1684-0488 , p. 121 ( acve.vu-wien.ac.at [PDF; accessed on June 19, 2012]).
  • U. Ashraf, J. Ye, X. Ruan, S. Wan, B. Zhu, S. Cao: Usutu virus: an emerging flavivirus in Europe. In: Viruses. Volume 7, number 1, January 2015, pp. 219-238, doi: 10.3390 / v7010219 , PMID 25606971 , PMC 4306835 (free full text) (review).
  • Dimitri Engel, Hanna Jöst u. a .: Reconstruction of the Evolutionary History and Dispersal of Usutu Virus, a Neglected Emerging Arbovirus in Europe and Africa. In: mBio. 7, 2016, doi: 10.1128 / mBio.01938-15 .
  • D. Cadar, R. Lühken et al. a .: Widespread activity of multiple lines of Usutu virus, western Europe, 2016. In: Euro surveillance: bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin. Volume 22, number 4, January 2017, p., Doi: 10.2807 / 1560-7917.ES.2017.22.4.30452 , PMID 28181903 , PMC 5388094 (free full text).
  • F. Michel, D. Fischer et al. a .: West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Monitoring of Wild Birds in Germany. In: International journal of environmental research and public health. Volume 15, number 1, 01 2018, p., Doi: 10.3390 / ijerph15010171 , PMID 29361762 , PMC 5800270 (free full text).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ICTV Master Species List 2018b.v2 . MSL # 34, March 2019
  2. ↑ a b c d ICTV: ICTV Taxonomy history: Yellow fever virus , EC 51, Berlin, Germany, July 2019; Email ratification March 2020 (MSL # 35)
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  5. ^ Deutscher Ärzteverlag GmbH, German editorial staff: Usutu virus emerged in Austrian blood donations. In: Ärzteblatt. Retrieved October 28, 2018 .
  6. ↑ D. Engel, H. Jöst, M. Wink, J. Börstler, S. Bosch, MM Garigliany, A. Jöst, C. Czajka, R. Lühken, U. Ziegler, MH Groschup, M. Pfeffer, N. Becker , D. Cadar, J. Schmidt-Chanasit: Reconstruction of the Evolutionary History and Dispersal of Usutu Virus, a Neglected Emerging Arbovirus in Europe and Africa. In: mBio. Volume 7, number 1, February 2016, pp. E01938 – e01915, doi: 10.1128 / mBio.01938-15 , PMID 26838717 , PMC 4742707 (free full text).
  7. ↑ a b c d D. Cadar, S. Bosch, H. Jöst, J. Börstler, MM Garigliany, N. Becker, J. Schmidt-Chanasit: Putative Lineage of Novel African Usutu Virus, Central Europe. In: Emerging infectious diseases. Volume 21, number 9, September 2015, pp. 1647–1650, doi: 10.3201 / eid2109.142026 , PMID 26291923 , PMC 4550175 (free full text).
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  9. ↑ a b Friedrich Loeffler Institute : Usutu virus infections (PDF)
  10. ↑ a b c U. Ashraf, J. Ye, X. Ruan, S. Wan, B. Zhu, S. Cao: Usutu virus: an emerging flavivirus in Europe. In: Viruses. Volume 7, number 1, January 2015, pp. 219-238, doi: 10.3390 / v7010219 , PMID 25606971 , PMC 4306835 (free full text) (review).
  11. ↑ N. Becker, H. Jöst, U. Ziegler, M. Eiden, D. Höper, P. Emmerich, E. Fichet-Calvet, DU Ehichioya, C. Czajka, M. Gabriel, B. Hoffmann, M. Beer, K. Tenner-Racz, P. Racz, S. Günther, M. Wink, S. Bosch, A. Konrad, M. Pfeffer, MH Groschup, J. Schmidt-Chanasit: Epizootic emergence of Usutu virus in wild and captive birds in Germany. In: PLOS ONE . Volume 7, number 2, 2012, p. E32604, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0032604 , PMID 22389712 , PMC 3289667 (free full text).
  12. ↑ Monica Pecorari, Giuseppe Longo, William Gennari, Antonella Grottola, Anna Maria Teresa Sabbatini, Sara Tagliazucchi, Giovanni Savini, Federica Monaco, Maria Luisa Simone, Rossella Lelli, Fabio Rumpianesi: First human case of Usutu virus neuroinvasive infection, Italy, August– September 2009. Eurosurveillance . December 2009 17; 14 (50), pii: 19446.
  13. ↑ Francesca Cavrini, Paolo Gaibani, Giuseppe Longo, Anna Maria Pierro, Giada Rossini, Paolo Bonilauri, Giorgio Enrico Gerunda, Fabrizio Di Benedetto, Alberto Pasetto, Massimo Girardis, Michele Dottori, Maria Paola Landini, Vittorio Sambri: Usutu virus infection in a patient who underwent orthotropic liver transplantation, Italy, August-September 2009. Euro Surveill. December 2009 17; 14 (50), pii: 19448
  14. ↑ Blackbird dying in southern Germany: tropical virus found (PDF; 135 kB), press release from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) from September 14, 2011
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  17. ^ Herbert Weissenböck, Tamás Bakonyi, Giacomo Rossi, Paolo Mani and Norbert Nowotny: Usutu virus, Italy, 1996 . In: Emerging Infectious Diseases . tape 19 , no. 2 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta 2013, p. 274-277 , doi : 10.3201 / eid1902.121191 , PMID 23347844 .
  18. ↑ Hanna Jöst, Vittorio Sambri, Martin H. Groschup, Alexandra Bialonski, Norbert Becker: Isolation of Usutu Virus in Germany . In: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene . tape 85 , no. 3 , September 1, 2011, ISSN  0002-9637 , p. 551–553 , doi : 10.4269 / ajtmh.2011.11-0248 , PMID 21896821 , PMC 3163883 (free full text).
  19. ↑ Blackbird dying in southern Germany: tropical virus found (PDF; 135 kB), press release from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) from September 14, 2011
  20. ↑ Christoph Seidler (chs), dpa: Threatening bird death in Germany. Researchers find tropical virus in dead blackbird. Spiegel Online , September 14, 2011, accessed June 19, 2012 .
  21. ↑ Tropical Usutu virus discovered for the first time. Stuttgart Journal, September 16, 2011, accessed June 19, 2012 .
  22. ↑ Re blackbird dying by tropical virus (PDF; 296 kB) press release of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) on July 13, 2012
  23. ↑ LVZ-Online: Numerous cases in Saxony, Berlin and Lower Saxony - Usutu virus kills birds throughout Germany - Many cases in the Leipzig area - LVZ - Leipziger Volkszeitung. lvz.de, accessed on October 7, 2016 .
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  25. ↑ D. Cadar, P. Maier, S. Müller, J. Kress, M. Chudy, A. Bialonski, A. Schlaphof, S. Jansen, H. Jöst, E. Tannich, S. Runkel, WE Hitzler, G. Hutschenreuter, M. Wessiepe, J. Schmidt-Chanasit: Blood donor screening for West Nile virus (WNV) revealed acute Usutu virus (USUV) infection, Germany, September 2016. In: Euro surveillance: bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin. Volume 22, number 14, April 2017, p., Doi: 10.2807 / 1560-7917.ES.2017.22.14.30501 , PMID 28422005 , PMC 5388121 (free full text).
  26. ↑ a b bird virus detected in the Nuremberg area. In: br.de. August 16, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
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