{
  "abstract": "BACKGROUNDWest Nile Virus (WNV) can be transmitted via blood transfusion and lead to neuroinvasive forms in recipients of blood products.AIMWe aimed to investigate WNV and Usutu virus (USUV) infections among blood donors in France.METHODSBlood donations in 18 of 96 departments of metropolitan France and from travellers returning from affected areas were screened prospectively for WNV using a commercial nucleic acid test (NAT). In addition, stored samples from blood donations in the affected departments were retrospectively tested with RT-qPCR. Differentiation between WNV and USUV infections in NAT-positive samples was done with a RT-qPCR or by seroneutralisation after seroconversion.RESULTSBetween 18 July and 1 December 2023, 34 (0.018%) of 185,965 blood donation samples were initially positive for WNV. After investigations, 20 donors with USUV infections (16 confirmed, four probable) and five with WNV infections (three confirmed, two probable) were identified. In samples from four donors, WNV and USUV could not be differentiated, and five samples remained indeterminate. Seventeen USUV infections were considered autochthonous: nine departments in the southern and central parts of France, including two departments where WNV was also detected. Infections with USUV were detected between 21 July and 17 October and WNV between 23 August and 20 September.CONCLUSIONVia screening of blood donations, we could identify the circulation of USUV in 2023 in large parts of metropolitan France. A One Health approach is required to better understand the determinants of USUV circulation in France and the clinical consequences of USUV infections in humans.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Etablissement Français du Sang, La Plaine Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France",
    "Unité des Virus Émergents (UVE: Aix-Marseille Univ-Corsica Univ-IRD 190-Inserm 1207-IRBA), Marseille, France",
    "National Reference Center for Arboviruses, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and French Armed Forces Biomedical Research Institute (IRBA), Marseille, France",
    "Etablissement Français du Sang Centre Pays de Loire, Nantes, France",
    "Etablissement Français du Sang Auvergne Rhône Alpes, Lyon Décines, France",
    "Etablissement Français du Sang Occitanie, Toulouse, France",
    "Etablissement Français du Sang Hauts de France-Normandie, Loos, France",
    "Santé publique France (French National Public Health Agency), Saint Maurice, France",
    "Santé publique France (French National Public Health Agency), Marseille, France"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 20,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Pierre Gallian",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3310-5808"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Gilda Grard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sophie Le Cam"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Raphaelle Klitting"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Marlène Guillet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Valérie Barlet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Marjorie Lacoste"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Céline Ricard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nadège Brisbarre"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Christine Isnard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Laura Pezzi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nazli Ayhan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Géraldine Piorkowski"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rayane Amaral"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Thierry Peyrard",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7715-568X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Marie Claire Paty"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Florian Franke"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Syria Laperche"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Guillaume André Durand"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xavier de Lamballerie"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eayyaggz0jyyr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.2807/1560-7917.es.2026.31.43.2600044",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13722931",
  "id": "eayyaggz0jyyr",
  "issns": [
    "1025-496X",
    "1560-7917"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42960467",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
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      "openalex",
      "2739|Mosquito-borne diseases and control"
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13722931?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13722931",
  "pmid": "42960467",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eayyaggz0jyyr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T03:21:43Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42960467",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42960467"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:21:38Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13722931",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2026.31.43.2600044"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Mosquito-borne diseases and control",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Identification of Usutu virus in blood donors as part of molecular screening for West Nile virus, France, 2023.",
  "title_text": "Identification of Usutu virus in blood donors as part of molecular screening for West Nile virus, France, 2023.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T12:21:38Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eayyaggz0jyyr",
  "venue": "Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin",
  "versions": []
}