Usutu virus meningitis: another overlooked mosquito-borne disease in central Europe.

Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen that taxonomically belongs to the genus Flavivirus and the family Flaviviridae. This arbovirus originating in Africa caused a major bird die-off near Vienna and its surroundings in 2001. Since then, the virus has progressively spread across southern, western and central Europe, including the Czech Republic. Despite the initial assumption that USUV is primarily pathogenic to birds (and highly virulent especially to blackbirds), several dozen human cases have been reported in Europe since 2019, and their number is steadily increasing. In this paper, we document a human case of Usutu virus meningitis in South Moravia at the end of the 2024 mosquito season and highlight the urgent need for regular surveillance of mosquitoes, birds, and humans, also focusing on other mosquito-borne diseases (in addition to West Nile virus and Ťahyňa virus) in the Czech Republic. The study authors obtained the patient's consent to publish this case report.