Publications

pigeon rotavirus a genotype g18p17-associated disease outbreaks after fancy pigeon shows in germany - a case series.	pigeon rotavirus a (rva) isolates of genotype g18p[17] are causing disease outbreaks and fatalities in pigeon lofts in australia, germany, belgium, denmark and usa since 2016. most disease outbreaks have been reported from juvenile pigeons (columba livia forma domestica). however, reports on rva-associated disease outbreaks in fancy pigeons in connection with fancy pigeon shows in germany are rare.	2021	33588462
a bacterially-expressed recombinant envelope protein from usutu virus induces neutralizing antibodies in rabbits.	recently, an emerging flavivirus, usutu virus (usuv), has caused an epidemic among birds in europe, resulting in a massive die-off in eurasian blackbirds. currently found only in europe and africa, it can be envisioned that usutu virus will follow the path of other flaviviruses, like west nile virus and zika virus, and will spread via its mosquito vectors and bird hosts to other parts of the world. several cases of human infections by usutu virus have already been published. anticipating this sp ...	2021	33669414
west nile and usutu virus infections in wild birds admitted to rehabilitation centres in extremadura, western spain, 2017-2019.	west nile virus (wnv) is an emerging flavivirus transmitted generally by mosquitoes of culex genus. it is maintained in an enzootic life cycle where birds act as reservoir hosts. humans and horses are also susceptible to infection, and occasionally, they suffer from neurological complications. however, they do not transmit the virus to other vectors, behaving as dead-end hosts. sporadic wnv outbreaks observed in horses and wild birds from extremadura (western spain) during 2016 and 2017 seasons ...	2021	33677369
co-infections: simultaneous detections of west nile virus and usutu virus in birds from germany.	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 c ...	2021	33655706
a sentinel serological study in selected zoo animals to assess early detection of west nile and usutu virus circulation in slovenia.	monitoring infectious diseases is a crucial part of preventive veterinary medicine in zoological collections. this zoo environment contains a great variety of animal species that are in contact with wildlife species as a potential source of infectious diseases. wild birds may be a source of west nile virus (wnv) and usutu (usuv) virus, which are both emerging pathogens of rising concern. the aim of this study was to use zoo animals as sentinels for the early detection of wnv and usuv in slovenia ...	2021	33917545
previous usutu virus exposure partially protects magpies (pica pica) against west nile virus disease but does not prevent horizontal transmission.	the mosquito-borne flaviviruses usuv and wnv are known to co-circulate in large parts of europe. both are a public health concern, and usuv has been the cause of epizootics in both wild and domestic birds, and neurological cases in humans in europe. here, we explore the susceptibility of magpies to experimental usuv infection, and how previous exposure to usuv would affect infection with wnv. none of the magpies exposed to usuv showed clinical signs, viremia, or detectable neutralizing antibodie ...	2021	34372622
west nile and usutu viruses' surveillance in birds of the province of ferrara, italy, from 2015 to 2019.	west nile (wnv) and usutu (usuv) viruses are mosquito-borne flaviviruses. thanks to their importance as zoonotic diseases, a regional plan for surveillance of arboviruses was implemented in emilia-romagna in 2009. the province of ferrara belongs to the emilia-romagna region, and it is an endemic territory for these viruses, with favorable ecological conditions for abundance of mosquitoes and wild birds. from 2015 to 2019, we collected 1842 dead-found birds at a wildlife rehabilitation center, wh ...	2021	34372573
a scoping review of west nile virus seroprevalence studies among african equids.	west nile virus (wnv) is an emerging and re-emerging zoonotic flavivirus first identified in and endemic to africa. the virus is transmitted between birds by biting mosquitoes, with equids and humans being incidental hosts. the majority of infected incidental hosts display no or only mild clinical signs, but a fraction develop encephalitis. the aim of this scoping review was to identify and evaluate primary research on the presence of antibodies to wnv among african equids. three bibliographic d ...	2021	34358049
west nile virus seroprevalence in a selected donkey population of namibia.	west nile virus (wnv) is a mosquito-borne virus enzootically maintained in birds. however, it can incidentally infect other species, leading to sometimes severe clinical consequences like in horses and especially human beings. despite the topic relevance, the presence and distribution of wnv are currently unknown in namibia. several countries implement surveillance systems based on virus detection in birds, mosquitoes, and vertebrate species including horses. the present study aimed to fill this ...	2021	34222404
effect of blood source on vector competence of culex pipiens biotypes for usutu virus.	infectious blood meal experiments have been frequently performed with different virus-vector combinations to assess the transmission potential of arthropod-borne (arbo)viruses. a wide variety of host blood sources have been used to deliver arboviruses to their arthropod vectors in laboratory studies. the type of blood used during vector competence experiments does not always reflect the blood from the viremic vertebrate hosts in the field, but little is known about the effect of blood source on ...	2021	33832527
pathogenesis and shedding of usutu virus in juvenile chickens.	usutu virus (usuv; family: flaviviridae, genus: flavivirus), is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus that causes severe neuroinvasive disease in humans and has been implicated in the loss of breeding bird populations in europe. usuv is maintained in an enzootic cycle between ornithophilic mosquitos and wild birds. as a member of the japanese encephalitis serocomplex, usuv is closely related to west nile virus (wnv) and st. louis encephalitis virus (slev), both neuroinvasive arboviruses endemic in wild ...	2021	33769213