West Nile virus lineage 2 (WNV-2) was detected in the brain of 17 goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) that succumbed to neuroinvasive disease in the Czech Republic during 2018: twelve birds were captive and five wild. Furthermore, two wild sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) and three other captive birds of prey (golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, hybrid saker falcon Falco cherrug × F. rusticolus and Harris's hawk Parabuteo unicinctus) also died due to WNV encephalitis. The 2018 outbreak in Czech raptors clearly reflects a new epidemiological situation and indicates an increasing risk of both raptor and human infection with WNV-2 in the country.

Czech Collection of Microorganisms Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology Mendel University Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic

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History of Arbovirus Research in the Czech Republic

First Autochthonous West Nile Lineage 2 and Usutu Virus Infections in Humans, July to October 2018, Czech Republic