Toscana virus (TOSV), a sandfly fever virus serotype of medical and public health importance, is a major pathogen involved in aseptic meningtis occurring in Mediterranean countries and poses a threat to the residents as well as travellers. Limited data on TOSV activity are present from Turkey despite being located in the endemic zone. We aimed to identify TOSV exposure in 1115 healthy blood donors at the Hacettepe University Hospital Blood Bank in Ankara, Turkey, using commercial indirect fluorescence assays (IFAs) and virus neutralization test (VNT) for antibody detection and specificity confirmation. A total of 199 samples (17.8%) were positive for anti-TOSV that include IgG reactivity in 10.4%, IgM reactivity in 8.2% and IgM + IgG reactivity in 0.7% of the sera. Anti-TOSV specificity could be confirmed via VNT in 56% of the IgG- and 43.6% of the IgM-positive sera, making up a total of 58 samples (5.2%). Risk factors associated with TOSV IgG reactivity were male gender, residing in rural areas, frequent sighting of mosquitoes/sandflies and working outdoors. TOSV-specific antibody prevalence increased significantly with age. Evidence of exposure to other sandfly fever viruses was noted. These data reveal that mild or asymptomatic infections with TOSV are frequent in central and northern Anatolia. TOSV exposure has also been identified in residents of 9 provinces in southern/southeastern Anatolia for the first time.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01436.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Neutralizing based seroprevalence study of Toscana virus in livestock from Algeria.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis
December 2023
Center of Research in Agro-pastoralism, Djelfa 17000, Algeria. Electronic address:
Toscana virus is a sandfly-borne human pathogen belonging to Phlebovirus genus into Phenuiviridae family. It is emerging in north Africa posing a complex threat to public health. TOSV is heavily affecting sandfly-exposed people in northern Algeria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComprehensive Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Human Sandfly-Borne Phlebovirus Exposure in an Endemic Region.
Viruses
September 2023
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06230, Turkey.
Sandfly-borne phleboviruses are endemic in countries around the Mediterranean Basin and pose a significant health threat for populations, with symptoms spanning from febrile diseases to central nervous system involvement. We carried out a comprehensive cross-sectional screening via microneutralization (MN) assays for a quantitative assessment of neutralizing antibodies (NAs) to seven phleboviruses representing three distinct serocomplexes, using samples previously screened via immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) in Turkey, an endemic region with various phleboviruses in circulation. We detected NAs to three phleboviruses: Toscana virus (TOSV), sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV), and sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), while assays utilizing Adana virus, Punique virus, Massilia virus, and Zerdali virus remained negative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Role of the Infected Dogs as a Potential Reservoir Host for Toscana Virus in a Zoonotic Visceral Leishmaniasis Focus of Northern Tunisia.
Viruses
April 2023
Unit of Vector Ecology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis 1002, Tunisia.
The role of dogs as reservoir hosts for Toscana virus (TOSV) remains undetermined. This study investigated TOSV and infections in one healthy and three infected dogs with (A, B, C) following natural exposition to sandfly bites in a focus of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) located in Northern Tunisia from June to October 2020. At the end of the exposition period, infected and healthy dogs were examined for TOSV and infections by xenodiagnosis using a colony of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPresence of the sandfly-borne phlebovirus (Toscana virus) in different bio-geographical regions of Algeria demonstrated by a microneutralisation-based seroprevalence study in owned dogs.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis
September 2022
Faculté des Sciences Biologiques, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene, Alger, Algeria; Laboratoire Biodiversité et Environnement: Interactions, Génomes, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene, Alger, Algeria; Ecole Supérieure en Sciences de l'Aliment et des Industries Agroalimentaires (ESSAIA), Alger, Algeria. Electronic address:
Toscana virus (TOSV) is major meningitis and meningoencephalitis agent in the Mediterranean basin. Dogs are frequently exposed to TOSV; thereby they can contribute to estimating its circulation. In Algeria, little is known about its circulation, and available data are restricted to the Kabylian region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExposure to Phlebotomus perniciosus sandfly vectors is positively associated with Toscana virus and Leishmania infantum infection in human blood donors in Murcia Region, southeast Spain.
Transbound Emerg Dis
September 2022
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Regional 'Campus Mare Nostrum', Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
Article Synopsis
- A study in southeast Spain examined antibodies and DNA against various sandfly-related pathogens in 670 blood samples from 575 donors during 2017 and 2018.
- High seroprevalences were found for sandfly salivary gland homogenate (SGH) at 69% and recombinant protein rSP03B at 88%, but their correlation was low.
- Seroprevalences for Toscana virus, Sandfly Fever Sicilian virus, and Leishmania were relatively low, and while associations with SGH were stronger, the diagnostic value of rSP03B was questioned.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!