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. 2017 Oct;22(41):17-00644.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.41.17-00644.

Usutu virus infections among blood donors, Austria, July and August 2017 - Raising awareness for diagnostic challenges

Tamás Bakonyi  1   2   3 , Christof Jungbauer  3   4 , Stephan W Aberle  3   5 , Jolanta Kolodziejek  1 , Katharina Dimmel  1 , Karin Stiasny  5 , Franz Allerberger  6 , Norbert Nowotny  1   3   7
Affiliations

Usutu virus infections among blood donors, Austria, July and August 2017 - Raising awareness for diagnostic challenges

Tamás Bakonyi et al. Euro Surveill. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Between July and August 2017, seven of 12,047 blood donations from eastern Austria, reacted positive to West Nile virus (WNV) in the cobas test (Roche). Follow-up investigations revealed Usutu virus (USUV) nucleic acid in six of these. Retrospective analyses of four blood donors diagnosed as WNV-infected in 2016 showed one USUV positive. Blood transfusion services and public health authorities in USUV-endemic areas should be aware of a possible increase of human USUV infections.

Keywords: Austria; Flaviviridae; Usutu virus; West Nile virus; blood donor; blood-borne infections; diagnosis; flavivirus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phylogenetic analysis of selected complete coding Usutu virus sequences together with that recovered from a blood donor in Austria, 2017
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic analysis of selected partial NS5 protein coding and 3’UTR nt Usutu virus sequences together with those recovered from blood donors in Austria, 2016 and 2017
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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