Infectious diseases (London, England)最新文献

{"title":"Incidence and duration of human papillomavirus infections in young women: insights from a bimonthly follow-up cohort.","authors":"Thomas Bénéteau, Soraya Groc, Carmen Lía Murall, Vanina Boué, Baptiste Elie, Nicolas Tessandier, Claire Bernat, Marine Bonneau, Vincent Foulongne, Christelle Graf, Sophie Grasset, Massilva Rahmoun, Michel Segondy, Vincent Tribout, Jacques Reynes, Christian Selinger, Nathalie Boulle, Ignacio G Bravo, Mircea T Sofonea, Samuel Alizon","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2427223","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2427223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>We studied the duration of HPV detection and risk of (re-) detection for 25 HPV genotypes in a cohort of 132 women followed every eight weeks for up to two years between 2016 and 2020. Participants were between 18 and 25 years old at inclusion and half of them were vaccinated against HPV. They were recruited near the University and the STI detection centre in Montpellier, France.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used genotype-specific longitudinal data to characterise the dynamics of HPV-detected episodes. We investigated the contribution of viral and host factors to the variations in the duration of HPV detection, and the time before (re-)detection of the same genotype using multivariate Cox regression models with frailty at the patient level.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>We detected at least one HPV episode in 74% of the participants and re-detected the same genotype in 47% of them. Covariates related to socio-economic difficulties were associated with a lower risk of detectability loss (hazard ratio 0.45 with a 95% confidence interval, CI, from 0.21 to 0.97). The number of lifetime sexual partners was strongly associated with an increased risk of new positive detection (hazard ratio 2.40 with a 95%CI from 1.07 to 5.39). In contrast, vaccination was associated with a lower risk of displaying incident infections (hazard ratio of 0.64 with a 95%CI from 0.43 to 0.96).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In the short term, vaccination shows clear signs of protection against new HPV detections, including for some genotypes not targeted by the vaccine, such as HPV31 and HPV51.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"322-331"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142752454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Body mass index and prognosis of infective endocarditis.","authors":"Raquel Frías-García, Patricia Muñoz García, Marina Machado Vilchez, Gregorio Cuerpo Caballero, Raquel Rodríguez-García, Ma Ángeles Rodríguez-Esteban, Ma Carmen Fariñas-Álvarez, José M Miró Meda, Andrea Gutiérrez Villanueva, Guillermo Ojeda-Burgos, Ane Josune Goikoetxea-Agirre, Marina Bernal Palacios, Manuel Martínez-Sellés","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2481914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2025.2481914","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Malnutrition is associated with prognosis in several heart diseases, but there is little information in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Our objective was to assess the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of IE.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>National registry of patients with definite or probable IE from 2008 to 2021, comparing in-hospital and 1-year mortality according to BMI.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From 3645 patients, 91 (2.5%) were underweight, 1432 (39.3%) had normal weight, 1503 (41.2%) were overweight, and 619 (17.0%) had obesity. The median age was lowest in the underweight group (51 vs. >66 years in the other groups, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Patients with underweight/normal weight had an inferior age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity score than those with overweight/obesity (4 vs. 5, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Tricuspid IE was common in patients with underweight (15.4%), while in other groups its prevalence was <6%, <i>p</i> < 0.001. In-hospital and 1-year mortality were respectively: underweight (26.4% and 34.1%), normal weight (19.9% and 25.8%), overweight (22.4% and 27.8%), and obesity (27.8% and 32.5%), both <i>p</i> values ≤0.01. In multivariate analysis, underweight showed a trend for an association with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 1.67; 95% confidence interval 0.93-3.01 <i>p</i> = 0.09) and a significant association with 1-year mortality (hazard ratio 1.94; 95% confidence interval 1.14-3.31; <i>p</i> = 0.015).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The prognosis of IE in patients with underweight and obesity is worse than in those with normal weight or overweight, and low weight is an independent predictor of 1-year mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143766075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Commentary on 'incidence, antimicrobial resistance, and mortality of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteraemia in shanghai, China, 2018-2022'.","authors":"Sari Luthfiyah, Tacik Idayanti, Mohammed Ismath","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2460505","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2460505","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"376-377"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143071274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inter-rater reliability of Centor score assessments between telemedicine and in-person examinations in patients with an acute sore throat.","authors":"Patrycja Woldan-Gradalska, Wojciech Gradalski, Sikandar Moradi, Martin Franzelius, Sara Folkerman, Eva-Maria Fuchs, Frida Liljegren, Therese Karlsson, Hálfdán Pétursson, Anette Larsson, Ingmarie Skoglund, Ronny K Gunnarsson, Pär-Daniel Sundvall","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2434878","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2434878","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>It is uncertain whether the Centor criteria can be reliably assessed during telemedicine encounters with patients seeking care for a sore throat. Acquiring this knowledge is important as sore throat is a common reason for telemedicine consultations.</p><p><strong>Objectives: primary objective: </strong>To compare the inter-rater reliability of Centor score assessments <i>via</i> telemedicine versus in-person examinations. <b>Secondary objectives</b>: To investigate whether the interrater reliability varies when assessing patients who are children versus adults, and whether the telemedicine physician considered conditions for assessment as adequate.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study in which each patient initially underwent a telemedicine evaluation, followed by an in-person assessment conducted by an independent physician who was kept unaware of the outcome of the initial evaluation. Agreement between both assessments was measured using Cohen's kappa coefficient.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During 2020-2023 189 patients with a mean age of 31 years (SD 18) were included. Among them, 114 were female and 148 adults. Agreement was low with kappa between 0.47(95% CI 0.38 - 0.56) to 0.58 (95% CI 0.43-0.72) when comparing assessments of lymph nodes, tonsils and the total Centor score. Kappa was potentially acceptable for history of fever and absence of cough. Subgrouping participants into children and adults did not affect kappa of the total Centor score.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Telemedicine examination in patients with an acute sore throat is not reliable for assessing Centor criteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"341-349"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142756032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular epidemiology and evolution of norovirus in Australia and New Zealand, 2018 to 2020.","authors":"Grace J H Yan, Joanne Hewitt, Lewis K Mercer, Emma F Harding, Dawn Croucher, Alice G Russo, Peter G Huntington, Jason M Mackenzie, William D Rawlinson, Peter A White","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2479133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2025.2479133","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Norovirus causes an estimated 699 million cases of gastroenteritis and 219,000 deaths each year. Historically, novel strains with a genogroup II genotype 4 (GII.4) capsid have emerged every 3-5 years to cause gastroenteritis pandemics. Contrary to historical trends, viruses with aGII.4 Sydney 2012 capsid have extended the timeframe of capsid circulation, well beyond the usual 3-5 years, through genetic recombination to obtain new non-structural regions, for example, a GII.P16 ORF1.</p><p><strong>Objectives and methods: </strong>The molecular evolution in the GII.4 capsid of strains in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and New Zealand (NZ) before and into the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-20) was investigated by sequencing noroviruses from clinical specimens and wastewater.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A continued high prevalence of GII.4 Sydney 2012 [P16] was observed (NSW: 23.0%; NZ: 24.2%), albeit co-dominant with GII.2 [P16] (NSW: 20.2%; NZ: 29.4%). Unlike the historical trends, the GII.4 Sydney 2012 capsid has been in circulation for eight years. Circulating norovirus in the community was disrupted by COVID-19 control measures; lockdowns reduced viral concentration in wastewater by >90% (1.4 × 10⁵ genome copies (gc)/L) from May to September 2020 compared to equivalent timeframes in 2018 (1.6 × 10⁶gc/L) and 2019 (1.9 × 10⁶gc/L). The relaxation of lockdown measures in late-2020 coincided with a strong resurgence of GII.2[P16] prevalence both clinically and in wastewater in NSW and Melbourne, accompanied by a decline in the diversity of circulating noroviruses. Conclusion: In summary, COVID-19 disrupted the strain diversity and levels of norovirus in Australia and New Zealand.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies to detect exposure to SARS-CoV-2: results from a prospective cohort study on COVID-19 vaccination.","authors":"Magnus Rasmussen, Ariane Neumann, Mahnaz Moghaddassi, Malin Inghammar, Jonas Björk, Ulf Malmqvist, Fredrik Kahn","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2479139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2025.2479139","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In May 2023, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 no longer a public health emergency. Despite successful vaccination campaigns, vaccines provide limited protection against transmission. Since general testing has been abandoned in most countries, alternative population surveillance methods to assess SARS-CoV-2 exposure are needed.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>N-antigen is a protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is not present in the vaccines and hence may be a useful serological marker of infection. This study evaluated N-antigen antibodies as a marker of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in a vaccinated Swedish cohort. Serum samples were collected and analysed for N-antigen antibodies using the mesoscale system. Nonlinear mixed-effects model accounting for multiple measurements per individual was used to estimate the half-life of N-antigen antibodies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 3,202 participants (median age 31 years) were recruited from April 2021 to February 2022 from four vaccination centres in Skåne, Sweden. A total of 2,999 participants had at least one valid N-antigen antibody measurement. The estimated half-life of N-antigen antibodies was 59 days (95% CI: 55-64 days). The estimated 95% range of halves-lives were from 24 to 174 days. The repeated measurements of N-antigen antibody levels could accurately detect SARS-CoV-2 infection. A twofold increase had a sensitivity of 91%, whereas a 16-fold increase had a specificity of 91%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting infection was 0.88 [95% C.I. 0.86-0.90].</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Repeated monitoring of N-antigen antibody levels may be a valuable tool for assessing SARS-CoV-2 exposure and thus aid in monitoring transmission thereby helping in guiding vaccination strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Frequency of haematogenous periprosthetic joint infection due to bacteraemia caused by gram-positive cocci.","authors":"Olof Thompson, Lisa I Påhlman","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2476530","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2025.2476530","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Presence of a prosthetic joint entails a life-long risk of haematogenous periprosthetic joint infection (hPJI) during bacteraemia. For bacteraemia with <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> the hPJI frequency has been described to be up to 40% and for streptococci up to 20%, with large variation among reported frequencies.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We aimed to investigate the hPJI frequency from bacteraemia with virulent gram-positive cocci in patients with hip and/or knee prosthesis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A population and register based approach was used. Through cross-matching of blood cultures positive for virulent gram-positive cocci and data from the Swedish Arthroplasty Register, patients with at least one prosthesis in place during bacteraemia were identified. Medical records were reviewed if patients had concordant microbiological cultures in blood and synovial fluid, tissue or bone, to determine if hPJI was present. Absence of concordant cultures was interpreted as absence of hPJI.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of all 2392 episodes of bacteraemia identified during the study period, 143 (6%) caused at least one hPJI. The highest frequency of hPJI was observed for <i>S. aureus</i> (9.6%) and <i>Streptococcus agalactiae</i> (9.3%). Increasing number of prostheses in place, male sex and lower age were independently associated with hPJI. Bacteraemia with other species than <i>S. aureus</i> or <i>S. agalactiae</i> was associated with a lower hPJI risk.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The observational risk of hPJI from bacteraemia with virulent gram-positive cocci was much lower than in previous reports, especially for <i>S. aureus</i>, with an hPJI frequency of 9.6%.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143625850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plasma <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA assay: a diagnostic tool for tuberculosis lymphadenitis.","authors":"Sosina Ayalew, Teklu Wegayehu, Biniam Wondale, Dawit Halu Alemayehu, Dawit Kebede, Haymanot Agize, Emnet Fisseha, Tigist Desta, Sebsibe Niway, Anne Piantadosi, Adane Mihret","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2478263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2025.2478263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Bacterial confirmation in suspected tuberculosis lymphadenitis patients is challenging. This study evaluates plasma <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA as a diagnostic tool for tuberculosis lymphadenitis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A quantitative PCR assay targeting IS<i>6110</i>, IS<i>1081</i>, and <i>cyp141</i> genes was performed on plasma samples. The study included 95 tuberculosis lymphadenitis patients and 60 controls. Sensitivity of the plasma <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA assay was assessed against fine needle aspiration GeneXpert Ultra, fine needle aspiration culture, and fine needle aspiration cytology, while specificity was determined using control groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the tuberculosis lymphadenitis cases, 71 (74.7%) were bacteriologically confirmed, and 24 (25.3%) were probable. In the control group, 50% had latent tuberculosis infection. The <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA assay, targeting three genes, had an overall sensitivity of 65.3%, increasing to 70.4% for confirmed cases and 50% for probable cases, with specificity of 91.1%. Sensitivities for specific gene combinations were 62.1% for IS<i>6110</i> and IS<i>1081</i>, 54.7% for IS<i>6110</i> and <i>cyp141</i>, and 55.8% for IS<i>1081</i> and <i>cyp141</i>. For individual genes, IS<i>6110</i> showed 49.4% sensitivity (specificity: 93.3%), IS<i>1081</i> had 51.6% (specificity: 96.0%), and <i>cyp141</i> showed 28.4% (specificity: 96.7%). Combining positive results from all three genes in the cell-free DNA assay with fine needle aspiration culture and GeneXpert Ultra improved sensitivity to 76.8% and 85.3%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrated that <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA can be detected in the plasma of over half of tuberculosis lymphadenitis patients. The plasma <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> cell-free DNA assay could serve as a valuable, less-invasive complement to existing fine needle aspiration diagnostics.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143617928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Case series of <i>Candida albicans</i> spondylodiscitis and a brief review of the literature.","authors":"Nanna D Christiansen, Susan O Lindvig, Isik S Johansen, Michala Kehrer","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2463957","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23744235.2025.2463957","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong><i>Candida albicans</i> is the most frequent fungal organism causing vertebral spondylodiskitis. Given limited research, this study aimed to describe patient characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of the <i>C. albicans</i> spondylodiscitis patients in Southern Denmark using a case series and literature review.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective review of all consecutive patients treated for infectious spondylodiscitis during 2009-2023 at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, Denmark. All medical records were reviewed and cases of <i>C. albicans</i> were included. A review of the English literature from the last decade was conducted with a predefined search string. We excluded articles not aligning with our objectives.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among five fungal cases, four were <i>C. albicans</i> infections. Two patients presented with pain/fever in the vertebra column. All were initially treated as having bacterial spondylodiscitis. Half of the patients had positive blood cultures and all had positive biopsies taken. The two remaining patients had experienced candidemia within one year prior to being diagnosed with spondylodiscitis. All were initially treated with fluconazole with a median duration of 9 months (range 6-12 months). The median time to diagnosis was 27 days (range 23-35 days). Two patients died during treatment. The median follow-up was 7 months (range 6-8 months). Thirteen studies were included in the literature review.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study described the characteristics, treatment and outcome of <i>C. albicans</i> spondylodiscitis patients in Southern Denmark. Noting prior candidemia episodes can improve early identification and outcomes. Furthermore, our patients exhibit clinical similarities to those in the literature review.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143544753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Circulation of West Nile virus and Usutu virus in birds in Germany, 2021 and 2022.","authors":"Franziska Schopf, Balal Sadeghi, Felicitas Bergmann, Dominik Fischer, Ronja Rahner, Kerstin Müller, Anne Günther, Anja Globig, Markus Keller, Rebekka Schwehn, Vanessa Guddorf, Maximilian Reuschel, Luisa Fischer, Oliver Krone, Monika Rinder, Karolin Schütte, Volker Schmidt, Kristin Heenemann, Anne Schwarzer, Christine Fast, Carola Sauter-Louis, Christoph Staubach, Renke Lühken, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Florian Brandes, Michael Lierz, Rüdiger Korbel, Thomas W Vahlenkamp, Martin H Groschup, Ute Ziegler","doi":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2419859","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23744235.2024.2419859","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are zoonotic arthropod-borne orthoflaviviruses. The enzootic transmission cycles of both include <i>Culex</i> mosquitoes as vectors and birds as amplifying hosts. For more than 10 years, these viruses have been monitored in birds in Germany by a multidisciplinary network. While USUV is present nationwide, WNV used to be restricted to the central-east.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In 2021 and 2022, over 2300 live bird blood samples and organs from over 3000 deceased birds were subjected to molecular and serological analysis regarding the presence of WNV and USUV. The samples were collected at sites all over Germany.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Circulation of both viruses increased in 2022. For USUV, the nationwide presence of lineages Africa 3 and Europe 3 reported in previous years was confirmed. Lineage Europe 2, formerly restricted to the German east, was able to expand westward. Nonetheless, USUV neutralizing antibody (nAb) detection rates remained low (< 9%). Years 2021 and 2022 were characterized by stable enzootic circulation of WNV lineage 2, dominated by one previously identified subcluster (95% of generated sequences). In 2022, >20% of birds in the endemic region in eastern Germany carried nAb against WNV. Serological data also indicate expanding WNV circulation west and south of the known hotspots in Germany.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>USUV circulates enzootically nationwide. Emergence of WNV at several new locations in Germany with a potential increase in human infections may be imminent. In this context, wild bird monitoring serves as a capable early warning system in a One Health setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":73372,"journal":{"name":"Infectious diseases (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"256-277"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142633491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}