Publications

putative new west nile virus lineage in uranotaenia unguiculata mosquitoes, austria, 2013.	west nile virus (wnv) is becoming more widespread and markedly effecting public health. we sequenced the complete polyprotein gene of a divergent wnv strain newly detected in a pool of uranotaenia unguiculata mosquitoes in austria. phylogenetic analyses suggest that the new strain constitutes a ninth wnv lineage or a sublineage of wnv lineage 4.	25418009
multidisciplinary and evidence-based method for prioritizing diseases of food-producing animals and zoonoses.	to prioritize 100 animal diseases and zoonoses in europe, we used a multicriteria decision-making procedure based on opinions of experts and evidence-based data. forty international experts performed intracategory and intercategory weighting of 57 prioritization criteria. two methods (deterministic with mean of each weight and probabilistic with distribution functions of weights by using monte carlo simulation) were used to calculate a score for each disease. consecutive ranking was established. ...	22469519
feasibility of cross-protective vaccination against flaviviruses of the japanese encephalitis serocomplex.	serological cross-reactivity providing cross-protective immunity between antigenically related viruses is a cornerstone of vaccination. it was the immunological basis for the first human vaccine against smallpox introduced more than 200 years ago, and continues to underpin modern vaccine development as has recently been shown for human papillomavirus vaccines, which confer cross-protection against other oncogenic papillomavirus types not present in the vaccine. here, we review the feasibility of ...	22309667
background review for diagnostic test development for zika virus infection.	to review the state of knowledge about diagnostic testing for zika virus infection and identify areas of research needed to address the current gaps in knowledge.	27516635
putative lineage of novel african usutu virus, central europe.	we characterized the complete genome of a putative novel usutu virus (usuv) strain (usutu-bonn) detected in a dead blackbird from germany. genomic analysis revealed several unique amino acid substitutions among the polyprotein gene. phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that usutu-bonn constitutes a putative novel african usuv lineage, which was probably recently introduced to central europe.	26291923
tick-borne encephalitis virus in horses, austria, 2011.	an unexpectedly high infection rate (26.1%) of tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev) was identified in a herd of 257 horses of the same breed distributed among 3 federal states in austria. young age (p<0.001) and male sex (p=0.001) were positively associated with infection.	23631894
usutu virus in migratory song thrushes, spain.		23764143
culex torrentium mosquito role as major enzootic vector defined by rate of sindbis virus infection, sweden, 2009.	we isolated sindbis virus (sinv) from the enzootic mosquito vectors culex torrentium, cx. pipiens, and culiseta morsitans collected in an area of sweden where sinv disease is endemic. the infection rate in cx. torrentium mosquitoes was exceptionally high (36 infections/1,000 mosquitoes), defining cx. torrentium as the main enzootic vector of sinv in scandinavia.	25898013
widespread usutu virus outbreak in birds in the netherlands, 2016.	we report a widespread usutu virus outbreak in birds in the netherlands. viral presence had been detected through targeted surveillance as early as april 2016 and increased mortality in common blackbirds and captive great grey owls was noticed from august 2016 onwards. usutu virus infection was confirmed by post-mortem examination and rt-pcr. extensive usutu virus activity in the netherlands in 2016 underlines the need to monitor mosquito activity and mosquito-borne infections in 2017 and beyond ...	27918257
usutu virus, italy, 1996.	retrospective analysis of archived tissue samples from bird deaths in the tuscany region of italy in 1996 identified usutu virus. partial sequencing confirmed identity with the 2001 vienna strain and provided evidence for a much earlier introduction of this virus into europe than previously assumed.	23347844
dual emergence of usutu virus in common blackbirds, eastern france, 2015.		27869608