Usutu virus detection in Abruzzo region, Italy: the entomological surveillance as key tool for the mosquito-borne disease prevention

Detection of Usutu virus within a West Nile virus surveillance program in Northern Italy.

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus belonging to the Japanese encephalitis serocomplex, recently related to neurological disease in immunosuppressed patients. In the same area of Northern Italy where USUV human cases occurred in 2009, a regional West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance program based on mosquito monitoring and wild birds screening has been implemented since 2008. Mosquit...

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.

Mosquito, Bird and Human Surveillance of West Nile and Usutu Viruses in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) in 2010

BACKGROUND In 2008, after the first West Nile virus (WNV) detection in the Emilia-Romagna region, a surveillance system, including mosquito- and bird-based surveillance, was established to evaluate the virus presence. Surveillance was improved in following years by extending the monitoring to larger areas and increasing the numbers of mosquitoes and birds tested. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING...

Usutu Virus Persistence and West Nile Virus Inactivity in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) in 2011

BACKGROUND The circulation of West Nile virus and Usutu virus was detected in the Emilia-Romagna region in 2008 and 2009. To evaluate the extent of circulation of both viruses, environmental surveillance, based on bird and mosquito testing, was conducted in 2008 and gradually improved over the years. METHODS In February-March 2009-2011, 5,993 hibernating mosquitoes were manually sampled, out ...

Mosquito-Borne Arboviral Surveillance and the Prediction of Disease Outbreaks