Neurotropic Tick-Borne Flavivirus in Alpine Chamois (<i>Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra</i>), Austria, 2017, Italy, 2023
2025
Norbert Nowotny | Maria Lucia Mandola | Isabella Monne | Zoltán Bagó | Chiara Nogarol | Alice Fusaro | Katharina Dimmel | Barbara Moroni | Lisa Guardone | Jolanta Kolodziejek | Elisa Palumbo | Gabriela Stanclova | Adi Steinrigl | Gabriele Fidler | Cristina Bertasio | Irene Bertoletti | Alessandro Bianchi | Mattia Calzolari | Paola Prati | Nadia Vicari | Angela Salomoni | Maria Francesca Priore | Federica Gobbo | Aitor Garcia-Vozmediano | Tom Loney | Ahmad Abou Tayoun | Alawi Alsheikh-Ali | Paola De Benedictis | Jeremy V. Camp | Zdenek Hubalek | Ivo Rudolf | Davide Lelli | Ana Moreno
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.
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