Update in Diagnostics of Toscana Virus Infection in a Hyperendemic Region (Southern Spain).

Sara Sanbonmatsu-Gámez,José María Navarro-Marí,Irene Pedrosa-Corral,Mercedes Pérez-Ruiz

doi:10.3390/v13081438

Abstract

The sandfly fever Toscana virus (TOSV, genus Phlebovirus, family Phenuiviridae) is endemic in Mediterranean countries. In Spain, phylogenetic studies of TOSV strains demonstrated that a genotype, different from the Italian, was circulating. This update reports 107 cases of TOSV neurological infection detected in Andalusia from 1988 to 2020, by viral culture, serology and/or RT-PCR. Most cases were located in Granada province, a hyperendemic region. TOSV neurological infection may be underdiagnosed since few laboratories include this virus in their portfolio. This work presents a reliable automated method, validated for the detection of the main viruses involved in acute meningitis and encephalitis, including the arboviruses TOSV and West Nile virus. This assay solves the need for multiple molecular platforms for different viruses and thus, improves the time to results for these syndromes, which require a rapid and efficient diagnostic approach.

Highlights

Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV), a species of the genus Phlebovirus, [1]is transmitted to humans by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies
TOSV was the second agent detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, following human enterovirus (hEV)
The first cases of human TOSV neurological infections were reported in Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal [6,30]

Summary

Introduction

Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV), a species of the genus Phlebovirus (family Phenuiviridae), [1]is transmitted to humans by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. TOSV typically causes aseptic meningitis; more rarely, cases of severe encephalitis with sequelae have been reported. It is endemic in Mediterranean countries, where seroprevalence rates are high [2,3,4,5]. The largest series of cases was first described in Granada province, located in Andalusia, a southern region [8,9] Further studies in this area have focused on several aspects: seroprevalence surveillance [2], investigation of vectors for TOSV [2], clinical studies [2,9], diagnostic methods [10,11] and search for animal reservoirs [12]

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion