Seroprevalence of Toscana Virus and Sandfly Fever Sicilian Virus in European Bat Colonies Measured Using a Neutralization Test.

Marc López-Roig,Remi N Charrel,Nazli Ayhan,Abir Monastiri,Jordi Serra-Cobo

doi:10.3390/v13010088

Abstract

Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV) and Sicilian phlebovirus (SFSV) are endemic in the Mediterranean area where they are transmitted to humans by infected sandflies. Vertebrates of several species have been postulated to act as reservoirs of these viruses, but convincing evidence is still awaited. Among them, bats have been suggested, however documented evidence is lacking. Here we tested a total of 329 bats belonging to eight species collected from twelve localities in southern Spain for the presence of neutralizing antibodies specific to TOSV and SFSV. Positive sera were detected in Schreiber’s long-fingered bat (Miniopterus schreibersii), mouse-eared Myotis (Myotis myotis), European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), and common serotine (Eptesicus serotinus) with the latter showing the highest prevalence rates for SFSV (22.6%) and TOSV (10%). There was no difference between females and males. Results suggest that bats are not likely to play a major role in the natural cycle of these two sandfly-borne phleboviruses. However, large breeding colonies of bats can be used as sentinels for surveillance of the presence of such viruses in a given locality. In addition, capture–recapture studies should be initiated in order to understand better the dynamics of TOSV and SFSV in bat populations.

Highlights

Toscana virus (TOSV) and sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV) are members of the Toscana phlebovirus and Sicilian phlebovirus species
TOSV and SFSV are endemic in the Mediterranean area where Toscana (TOSV) and sandfly fever Sicilian (SFSV) viruses can infect humans through the bite of infected female sandflies
Positive sera were detected for both viruses in common serotine (Eptesicus serotinus), Schreiber’s long-fingered bat (M. schreibersii), and mouse-eared Myotis (Myotis myotis); European free-tailed bat (T. teniotis) sera were positive for TOSV only (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Toscana virus (TOSV) and sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV) are members of the Toscana phlebovirus and Sicilian phlebovirus species (genus Phlebovirus, family Phenuiviridae, order Bunyavirales). After a 3–5 days incubation period, the SFSV infection consists of an onset of abrupt and severe fever, headaches, malaise, photophobia, myalgia, and retro-orbital pain. Infections consist of an acute febrile illness (3 to 5 days) with fever, myalgia, and headaches. Bats harbor a significantly higher proportion of zoonotic viruses than all other mammalian orders: more than 200 viruses of 28 families have been isolated or detected in bats [6,7] They have been recognized as important reservoirs of zoonotic viruses worldwide. Very little is known about the role of bats in the ecology of phleboviruses transmitted by sandflies For these reasons, we performed a prospective neutralization-based seroprevalence study of TOSV and SFSV in bat colonies located in Spain

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Results

Conclusion