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Volume 23, Number 12—December 2017
Research

Distribution of Usutu Virus in Germany and Its Effect on Breeding Bird Populations

Renke LühkenComments to Author , Hanna Jöst, Daniel Cadar, Stephanie Margarete Thomas, Stefan Bosch, Egbert Tannich, Norbert Becker, Ute Ziegler, Lars Lachmann, and Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit

Author affiliations: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany (R. Lühken, H. Jöst, D. Cadar, E. Tannich, J. Schmidt-Chanasit); German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Hamburg-Luebeck-Borstel, Hamburg (H. Jöst, E. Tannich, J. Schmidt-Chanasit); University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany (S.M. Thomas); Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Stuttgart, Germany (S. Bosch); Institute for Dipterology, Speyer, Germany (N. Becker); University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany (N. Becker); Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (U. Ziegler); Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Berlin, Germany (L. Lachmann)

Main Article

Table

Bird population indices by species differentiated USUV-suitable and USUV-unsuitable areas, Germany, 2016*

Species Mean population index, % (95% CI)
 Difference in mean change between areas, %†
USUV-suitable area USUV-unsuitable area
Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) 115.0 (108.3–120.8) 107.5 (105.8–108.8) 7.5
Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) 98.5 (93.0–104.4) 93.6 (91.8–95.4) 4.9
Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) 104.1 (98.4–109.9) 97.0 (95.5–98.4) 7.0
Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) 560.8 (428.4–760.6) 2,318.7 (2,097.0–2,511.5) −1,757.8
European greenfinch (Chloris chloris) 78.2 (72.5–83.6) 76.1 (74.6–77.4) 2.1
Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) 49.8 (46.0–53.2) 50.4 (49.5–51.3) 0.6
Common blackbird (Turdus merula) 79.7 (77.1–82.3) 95.4 (94.6–96.2) −15.7
House sparrow (Passer domesticus) 100.8 (94.0–106.8) 88.7 (87.2–90.2) 12.1
Great tit (Parus major) 114.5 (108.6–120.2) 105.5 (104.1–106.8) 9.0
Common swift (Apus apus) 67.7 (59.6–76.7) 73.2 (70.9–75.9) -5.6
Common house martin (Delichon urbicum) 74.8 (66.8–83.1) 73.9 (71.4–76.5) 0.9
Carrion crow (Corvus corone) 129.8 (107.4–155.2) 119.3 (113.8–123.6) 10.5
Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) 191.4 (172.2–212.6) 175.0 (170.6–180.0) 16.5
European robin (Erithacus rubecula) 101.1 (94.5–108.0) 97.8 (95.9–99.5) 3.3
Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 106.9 (98.9–115.1) 115.8 (112.8–118.9) −8.8

*USUV, Usutu virus.
†The difference in the mean change shows the magnitude and direction of divergence between the USUV-suitable and USUV-unsuitable area, i.e. a negative value indicates a lower population index for the USUV-suitable compared to the USUV-unsuitable area.

Main Article

Page created: November 16, 2017
Page updated: November 16, 2017
Page reviewed: November 16, 2017
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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