West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne arbovirus that can cause West Nile fever (WNF) or neuroinvasive disease (WNND) in humans. Human WNV cases have been reported in Berlin since 2019, but due to reliance on passive surveillance and detection, WNV infections are likely underdiagnosed.
Here, we traced acute WNV cases transmitted to the State Office for Health and Social Affairs Berlin...
Anthropogenic land use modifies landscapes and the surrounding matrix of natural habitats, alters biodiversity and increases the contact probabilities between wildlife, domestic animals and humans. Numerous lines of evidence further suggest that anthropogenically transformed environments increase the emergence of zoonoses. Wildlife species, however, respond to human disturbance differently....
Campylobacter jejuni is a major food-borne pathogen causing acute gastroenteritis and occasionally severe long-term complications. The diverse population structure, particularly caused by natural transformation, is considered the basis for adaptation and survival. To visualize natural transformation capacity, C. jejuni were incubated with fluorescently labelled DNA and treated with DNase....
Usutu virus (USUV) has emerged as a public health concern in Europe, showing
a rapid spread and impact on avian populations. We propose a
mathematical model to characterize the transmission dynamics of USUV be-
tween Culex mosquitoes and European blackbirds. Our model incorporates mosquito population dynamics, driven by temperature, rainfall, and wind speed. We analyzed the model using...
Hantavirus induced cardiopulmonar syndrome (HCPS), a sporadic yet lethal zoonotic disease, is caused by Andes virus (ANDV, species Andes orthohantavirus), which is prevalent in South America. Historically, ANDV spillover was thought exclusive of human exposure to aerosolized infectious particles released from the excreta and/or secreta of a natural reservoir (i.e. wild rodents). However,...
Driven by globalisation and climate change, mosquito-borne viruses have emerged in Europe over the last decades, with West Nile virus (WNV) transmission detected in Germany in 2018. Culex pipiens is considered the primary vector, but the sister species Cx. torrentium also plays a role in WNV transmission, especially in Central Europe where both species occur in sympatry. Assessing WNV...
