Neurotropic Tick-Borne Flavivirus in Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), Austria, 2017, Italy, 2023
The European subtype of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV-Eur; species <i>Orthoflavivirus encephalitidis</i>, family <i>Flaviviridae</i>) was the only tick-borne flavivirus present in central Europe known to cause neurologic disease in humans and several animal species. Here, we report a tick-borne flavivirus isolated from Alpine chamois (<i>Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra</i>) with encephalitis and attached ticks, present over a wide area in the Alps. Cases were detected in 2017 in Salzburg, Austria, and 2023 in Lombardy and Piedmont, Italy. The virus strains exhibit 94.8-97.3% nucleotide identities to each other and are more closely related to Louping ill viruses (LIV; <i>Orthoflavivirus loupingi</i>; 90-92% identities) than to TBEV-Eur (less than 88%). The chamois-derived virus strains, tentatively termed "Alpine chamois encephalitis virus", form a well-supported independent genetic clade with Spanish goat encephalitis virus, clearly separated from other LIV. This supports its designation as a new virus subtype with the proposed shared taxonomic name "Spanish goat and Alpine chamois encephalitis virus subtype" within the species <i>Orthoflavivirus loupingi</i>. The zoonotic potential of this newly identified virus subtype as well as its host range in other animal species including farm animals needs to be further investigated.
Authors
- Norbert Nowotny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3548-571X)
- Alessandro Bianchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-0842)
- Zoltán Bagó (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5897-5263)
- Paola Prati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7490-4537)
- Aitor Garcia‐Vozmediano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4458-8294)
- Maria Lucia Mandola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1296-6988)
- Federica Gobbo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9233-5737)
- Nadia Vicari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8156-0138)
- Tom Loney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1687-6587)
- Lisa Guardone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3018-8086)
- Chiara Nogarol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1474-8345)
- Zdeněk Hubálek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4732-0987)
- Gabriela Stanclova
- Isabella Monne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6564-4689)
- Alice Fusaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8213-5472)
- Mattia Calzolari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7489-2556)
- Alawi Alsheikh‐Ali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1213-4546)
- Cristina Bertasio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1082-982X)
- Ahmad Abou Tayoun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9134-1673)
- Jeremy Vann Camp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9040-5786)
- Adi Steinrigl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7727-7508)
- Paola De Benedictis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6760-1933)
- Angela Salomoni
- Katharina Dimmel
- Ivo Rudolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6602-2905)
- Jolanta Kolodziejek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5736-3644)
- Elisa Palumbo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5812-6760)
- Irene Bertoletti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4157-947X)
- Barbara Moroni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1478-8436)
- Davide Lelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5775-6058)
- Ana Maria Moreno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8497-9708)
- Maria Francesca Priore
- Gabriele Fidler
Institutions
- University of Pisa (IT)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT)
- Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (AE)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini" (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology (CZ)
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d'Aosta (IT)
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Viruses
- Published
- 2025-01-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v17010122
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.76
Funders
- Ministero della Salute
- Ministerstvo Zdravotnictví Ceské Republiky
- Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien