title: Further circulation of West Nile and Usutu viruses in wild birds in Italy.
abstract: Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are emerging pathogens that can cause neurological disease in humans. From March 2012 to June 2013, a sero-survey on wild birds was carried out to investigate the circulation of both viruses in Northwest (NW) Italy. Samples belonging to 47 different bird species have been collected using a volunteer based network and a wildlife rehabilitation center. Four of 297 serum samples had neutralizing antibodies against USUV (P=1.34%, IC 95% 0.36-3.4), while 10 of 233 samples tested positive for WNV (P=4.29%, IC 95% 2.07-7.75). Neutralizing antibodies for WNV were significantly more prevalent (p<0.001) in trans-Saharan migrants (P=21%, IC 95% 9.55-37.3) than in resident and short-distance birds, but no migratory habit-related differences were found for USUV. Antibodies in resident bird species suggest that both viruses are circulating in NW Italy.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, University of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Isis Victoriano
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Llopis
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, University of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for West Nile Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise, Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Annapia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Gennaro
authors.affiliation: Istituto per le Piante da Legno e l'Ambiente, IPLA spa, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for West Nile Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise, Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Teodori
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, University of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tomassone
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, University of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grego
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for West Nile Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise, Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monaco
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for West Nile Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise, Teramo, Italy. Electronic address: a.lorusso@izs.it.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorusso
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for West Nile Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise, Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savini
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology*; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology*; D018349:Encephalitis Viruses, Japanese / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007558:Italy; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000662:veterinary*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: Italy; Migratory birds; Serology; USUV; WNV