Comprehensive response to Usutu virus following first isolation in blood donors in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy: Development of recombinant NS1-based serology and sensitivity to antiviral drugs.

ABSTRACT: Surveillance of Usutu virus is crucial to prevent future outbreaks both in Europe and in other countries currently naïve to the infection, such as the Americas. This goal remains difficult to achieve, notably because of the lack of large-scale cohort studies and the absence of commercially available diagnostic reagents for USUV. This work started with the first identification of USUV in a blood donor in the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Region in Northern-Eastern Italy, which is endemic for West Nile virus. Considering that only one IgG ELISA is commercially available, but none for IgM, a novel NS1 antigen based IgG/M ELISA has been developed. This assay tested successfully for the detection of Usutu virus in blood donors with the identification of a second case of transmission and high leve

SUBMITTER: Caracciolo I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7145266 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature