Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany
The Usutu Virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus originated in Africa. The virus circulates in Germany since 2010. It is primarily transmitted and maintained in the natural cycle by Culex mosquitoes and primarily affects birds, particularly Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula), leading to signifi...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | One Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771424001940 |
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| author | Carolin Hattendorf Dániel Cadar Stefan Bosch Norbert Becker Lars Lachmann Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Anna Heitmann Renke Lühken |
| author_facet | Carolin Hattendorf Dániel Cadar Stefan Bosch Norbert Becker Lars Lachmann Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Anna Heitmann Renke Lühken |
| author_sort | Carolin Hattendorf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Usutu Virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus originated in Africa. The virus circulates in Germany since 2010. It is primarily transmitted and maintained in the natural cycle by Culex mosquitoes and primarily affects birds, particularly Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula), leading to significant mortality. Several studies have reported a high co-infection rate of European birds with both USUV and haemosporidians. Haemosporidians are blood parasites which maintain an enzootic life cycle with birds via different arthropod vectors. This study conducted screenings of birds from Germany received through a citizen's science project for both, USUV and haemosporidians between 2016 and 2021. The prevalence of USUV reached its peak in 2018, when it was first detected throughout most parts of Germany rather than being limited to localised hotspots. Subsequently, USUV prevalence consistently declined. On the other hand, the prevalence of haemosporidians initially declined between 2016 and 2019, but experienced a subsequent increase in the following years, exhibiting a more or less inverse pattern compared to the prevalence of USUV. In 2020, a statistically significant positive association between both pathogens was found, which was also detected across all years combined, indicating if at all a weak relationship between these pathogens. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36e17c9b2d4a40eca51c1feeee43d525 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2352-7714 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | One Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-36e17c9b2d4a40eca51c1feeee43d5252025-08-20T02:48:56ZengElsevierOne Health2352-77142024-12-011910086810.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100868Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in GermanyCarolin Hattendorf0Dániel Cadar1Stefan Bosch2Norbert Becker3Lars Lachmann4Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit5Anna Heitmann6Renke Lühken7Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, GermanyBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, GermanyNature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Charlottenplatz 17, 70173 Stuttgart, GermanyInstitute for Dipterology, Georg-Peter-Süß-Straße 3, 67346 Speyer, Germany; University of Heidelberg, Grabengasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, GermanyNature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Charitéstraße 3, 10117 Berlin, GermanyBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany; Universität Hamburg, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg, GermanyBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, GermanyBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany; Corresponding author.The Usutu Virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus originated in Africa. The virus circulates in Germany since 2010. It is primarily transmitted and maintained in the natural cycle by Culex mosquitoes and primarily affects birds, particularly Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula), leading to significant mortality. Several studies have reported a high co-infection rate of European birds with both USUV and haemosporidians. Haemosporidians are blood parasites which maintain an enzootic life cycle with birds via different arthropod vectors. This study conducted screenings of birds from Germany received through a citizen's science project for both, USUV and haemosporidians between 2016 and 2021. The prevalence of USUV reached its peak in 2018, when it was first detected throughout most parts of Germany rather than being limited to localised hotspots. Subsequently, USUV prevalence consistently declined. On the other hand, the prevalence of haemosporidians initially declined between 2016 and 2019, but experienced a subsequent increase in the following years, exhibiting a more or less inverse pattern compared to the prevalence of USUV. In 2020, a statistically significant positive association between both pathogens was found, which was also detected across all years combined, indicating if at all a weak relationship between these pathogens.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771424001940Usutu virusHaemosporidiaPlasmodiumBirdsGermany |
| spellingShingle | Carolin Hattendorf Dániel Cadar Stefan Bosch Norbert Becker Lars Lachmann Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Anna Heitmann Renke Lühken Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany One Health Usutu virus Haemosporidia Plasmodium Birds Germany |
| title | Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany |
| title_full | Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany |
| title_short | Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany |
| title_sort | weak association of usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in germany |
| topic | Usutu virus Haemosporidia Plasmodium Birds Germany |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771424001940 |
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