Reconstruction of the molecular evolution of Usutu virus in Germany: Insights into virus emersion and circulation.

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that is widely distributed in southern and central Europe. The zoonotic virus circulates primarily between birds and mosquitoes, can, however, in rare cases infect other mammals including humans. In the past, USUV has been repeatedly associated with mass mortalities in birds, primarily blackbirds and owls.

Co-Circulation of Different Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3 Subtypes in Pigs and Wild Boar in North-East Germany, 2019.

Hepatitis E is a major cause of acute liver disease in humans worldwide. The infection is caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) which is transmitted in Europe to humans primarily through zoonotic foodborne transmission from domestic pigs, wild boar, rabbits, and deer. HEV belongs to the family , and possesses a positive-sense, single stranded RNA genome.

[Post-mortem clinical pathology in cattle - an additional tool for the veterinary pathologist].

Clinical-pathologic examination of samples collected from more or less preserved body compartments during necropsy may provide important information and contribute to the list of differential diagnoses without corresponding patho-morphologic findings. It furthermore allows for diagnoses that otherwise may only be achieved clinically. Our review presents diagnostic approaches in examining aqueous humor, urine, ruminal fluid as well as other sample types characterized by a delayed onset of auto- and heterolytic artefacts.

Author Correction: Relatives of rubella virus in diverse mammals.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Relatives of rubella virus in diverse mammals.

Since 1814, when rubella was first described, the origins of the disease and its causative agent, rubella virus (Matonaviridae: Rubivirus), have remained unclear. Here we describe ruhugu virus and rustrela virus in Africa and Europe, respectively, which are, to our knowledge, the first known relatives of rubella virus. Ruhugu virus, which is the closest relative of rubella virus, was found in apparently healthy cyclops leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros cyclops) in Uganda.

Absence of classical and atypical (H- and L-) BSE infectivity in the blood of bovines in the clinical end stage of disease as confirmed by intraspecies blood transfusion.

While the presence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infectivity in the blood of clinically affected sheep has been proven by intraspecies blood-transfusion experiments, this question has remained open in the case of BSE-affected cattle. Although the absence of infectivity can be anticipated from the restriction of the agent to neuronal tissues in this species, evidence for this was still lacking. This particularly concerns the production and use of medicinal products and other applications containing bovine blood or preparations thereof.

Deciphering the BSE-type specific cell and tissue tropisms of atypical (H and L) and classical BSE.

After the discovery of two atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) forms in France and Italy designated H- and L-BSE, the question arose whether these new forms differed from classical BSE (C-BSE) in their pathogenesis. Samples collected from cattle in the clinical stage of BSE during an intracranial challenge study with L- and H-BSE were analysed using biochemical and histological methods as well as in a transgenic mouse bioassay. Our results generally confirmed what had been described for C-BSE to be true also for both atypical BSE forms, namely the restriction of the pathological prion protein (PrP) and BSE infectivity to the nervous system.

Intra- and Interspecies Transmission of Atypical BSE - What Can We Learn from It?

After the detection of the first cases of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) more than ten years ago, the etiology, pathogenesis and agent distribution of these novel BSE forms in cattle were completely unknown. Many studies have been performed in the meantime to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of these diseases. A wealth of data has been accumulated regarding the distribution of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP, in tissues of affected cattle, confirming the general restriction of the PrP and agent distribution to the central and peripheral nervous system, albeit at slightly higher levels as compared to classical BSE.

Biochemical Characteristics and PrP(Sc) Distribution Pattern in the Brains of Cattle Experimentally Challenged with H-type and L-type Atypical BSE.

Besides the classical form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that has been known for almost three decades, two atypical forms designated H-type and L-type BSE have recently been described. While the main diagnostic feature of these forms is the altered biochemical profile of the accumulated PrP(Sc), it was also observed in the initial analysis that L-type BSE displays a distribution pattern of the pathological prion protein (PrP(Sc)), which clearly differs from that observed in classical BSE (C-type). Most importantly, the obex region in the brainstem is not the region with the highest PrP(Sc) concentrations, but PrP(Sc) is spread more evenly throughout the entire brain.