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Africa Virus Reaches Scotland in Blackbirds
16 Jun
Summary
- Usutu virus, originating in Africa, detected in Scottish blackbirds for the first time.
- Climate change cited as a factor enabling the virus's northern expansion.
- Diseases like Usutu pose a significant threat to bird populations across Europe.
Usutu virus, a mosquito-borne disease originally identified in Africa, has been detected in blackbirds in Scotland for the first time. This unexpected finding, confirmed in April, challenges previous assumptions that Scotland's climate was too cool for the virus to thrive. Experts consider this a significant indicator of how climate change is accelerating environmental shifts and bringing new risks to regions sooner than anticipated.
Scientists are actively trapping mosquitoes in Scotland to better understand how Usutu virus might spread. The virus, named after an African river, had previously been found in Europe but not as far north as Scotland. Warmer summer temperatures, now frequently reached in Britain, are conducive to both the mosquitoes that carry the virus and the virus's multiplication within them.
While Usutu virus is not considered an immediate threat to public health, its presence in Scotland is a "canary in the coal mine" for other potential mosquito-borne diseases. This includes viruses like West Nile virus, which was detected in British mosquitoes in May 2025. Biologists are particularly concerned about the impact on bird populations, as Usutu has already caused declines in blackbirds and affects other avian species across Europe.
