title: Detection of Usutu virus in a bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) and a great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) in north-west Europe.
abstract: In October 2012, a 3-year-old bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) held in captivity for its entire lifespan and a wild adult great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), both with neurological signs, were found 4 km from each other and 5 days apart in the Meuse Valley, Belgium. Non-suppurative encephalitis and mild degeneration and necrosis were identified in the brain and cerebellum, and Usutu virus antigen and RNA were detected by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcriptase PCR, respectively. The two cases reported here represent the most western distribution of clinical disease in birds due to Usutu virus in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mutien-Marie
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Garigliany
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, Clinic for Birds, Rabbits and Rodents, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marlier
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Haemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Klara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tenner-Racz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eiden
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cassart
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, Clinic for Birds, Rabbits and Rodents, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gandar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Haemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Chanasit
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: daniel.desmecht@ulg.ac.be.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Desmecht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000145:classification*; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
keywords: Bullfinch; Europe; Flaviviridae; Passeriformes; Usutu virus; Woodpecker