Studies suggest that USUV is asymptomatic or associated with mild symptoms in most cases.
Symptoms is usually characterized by moderate fever, sometimes associated with rash and febrile jaundice.
Complication of encephalitis and meningitis were reported in patients.
First isolated in 1959 at Usutu River, Swaziland.
There have been several reported outbreaks of USUV over the past two decades in blackbird populations across Europe.
It were reported more than a hundred cases of acute human infection, mainly in Europe, with 18 deaths associated with the diseases in 2021-22.
Molecular studies suggests a silent spread of this virus among asymptomatic humans.
The human cases reported in Europe were concomitant with an epizootic outbreak .
Zoonotic potential risk to increase the numbers of human cases.
There are no approved vaccines or antivirals available at the moment for the prevention or treatment of USUV infection.