Presence of sandfly-borne phleboviruses of two antigenic complexes (Sandfly fever Naples virus and Sandfly fever Sicilian virus) in two different bio-geographical regions of Tunisia demonstrated by a microneutralisation-based seroprevalence study in dogs

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Remi N Charrel¹  Elyes Zhioua²  Xavier de Lamballerie¹  Ziad Zoghlami²  Cigdem Alkan¹  Khalil Dachraoui²  Laurence Bichaud¹  Wasfi Fares²  Sulaf Alwassouf¹  Sonia Sakhria² 

[1] IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, Marseille, 13385, France;Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia

关键词: Bunyaviridae;    Mediterranean basin;    Emerging;    Sentinels;    Dogs;    Sand flies;    Toscana virus;    Phleboviruses;   

Others  :  1149932
DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-014-0476-8

 received in 2014-09-24, accepted in 2014-10-03,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Sandfly-borne phleboviruses are present in North Africa where they can infect humans in regions where Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the Western Mediterranean basin is present affecting both humans and dogs. We investigated the capacity of dogs to be used as sentinels for sandfly-borne phleboviruses as previously shown for leishmaniasis.

Findings

A total of 312 sera were collected from guard dogs in two different bioclimatic regions (governorates of Kairouan and Bizerte) of Tunisia where zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis has been reported. These sera were tested for the presence of neutralising antibodies against 3 phleboviruses: Toscana virus, Punique virus and Sicilian virus. In the governorate of Kairouan, seroprevalence rates of 7.5%, 43.5%, and 38.1% were observed for Toscana, Punique and Sicilian virus, respectively. A high proportion of sera from the governorate of Bizerte were hemolyzed and showed high cytotoxicity for the cells and subsequently precluded detailed interpretation of this batch. However, validated results for 27 sera were in agreement with data observed in the governorate of Kairouan.

Conclusions

Toscana virus is present in the governorate of Kairouan but at a lower rate compared to Punique and Sicilian viruses. These three sandfly-borne phleboviruses can infect dogs. Direct detection and isolation of the viruses are now to be attempted in animals as well as in humans. Our findings showed that guard dogs are good sentinels for virus transmitted by sandflies and strongly suggested that the high seroprevalence rates observed in dogs merit further attention.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Sakhria et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Bahri O, Fazaa O, Ben Alaya-Bouafif N, Bouloy M, Triki H, Bouattour A: Role of Toscana virus in meningo-encephalitis in Tunisia. Pathol Biol (Paris) 2011, 59:e125-e127.
• [2]Bichaud L, Dachraoui K, Piorkowski G, Chelbi I, Moureau G, Cherni S, De Lamballerie X, Sakhria S, Charrel RN, Zhioua E: Toscana virus isolated from sandflies, Tunisia. Emerg Infect Dis 2013, 19:322-324.
• [3]Es-Sette N, Nourlil J, Hamdi S, Mellouki F, Lemrani M: First detection of Toscana virus RNA from sand flies in the genus Phlebotomus (Diptera: Phlebotomidae) naturally infected in Morocco. J Med Entomol 2012, 49:1507-1509.
• [4]Es-Sette N, Ajaoud M, Bichaud L, Hamdi S, Mellouki F, Charrel RN, Lemrani M: Phlebotomus sergenti a common vector of Leishmania tropica and Toscana virus in Morocco. J Vector Borne Dis 2014, 51:86-90.
• [5]Sakhria S, Bichaud L, Mensi M, Salez N, Dachraoui K, Thirion L, Cherni S, Chelbi I, De Lamballerie X, Zhioua E, Charrel RN: Co-circulation of Toscana virus and Punique virus in northern Tunisia: a microneutralisation-based seroprevalence study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2013, 7:e2429.
• [6]Sghaier W, Bahri O, Kedous E, Fazaa O, Rezig D, Touzi H, Ben Yahia A, Meddeb Z, Triki H: Retrospective study of viral causes of central nervous system infections in Tunisia (2003¿2009). Med Sante Trop 2012, 22:373-378.
• [7]Zhioua E, Moureau G, Chelbi I, Ninove L, Bichaud L, Derbali M, Champs M, Cherni S, Salez N, Cook S, de Lamballerie X, Charrel RN: Punique virus, a novel phlebovirus, related to sandfly fever Naples virus, isolated from sandflies collected in Tunisia. J Gen Virol 2010, 91:1275-1283.
• [8]Ben Ismail R: Incrimination de Phlebotomus perniciosus comme vecteur de Leishmania infantum. Arch Institut Pasteur Tunis 1993, 70:91-110.
• [9]Chargui N, Houas N, Slama D, Gorcii M, Jaouadi K, Essabah-Aguir N, Mezhoud H, Baba H: Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in a previously non-endemic region of Tunisia: Detection of Leishmmania DNA in Phlebotomus perniciosus. J Vect Ecol 2012, 2012(38):1-5.
• [10]Zoghlami Z, Chouihi E, Barhoumi W, Dachraoui K, Massoudi N, Ben Hele K, Habboul Z, Hadhri MH, Limam S, Mhadhbi M, Gharbi M, Zhioua E: 2014. Interaction between canine and human visceral leishmaniases in a holoendemic focus of Central Tunisia. Acta Trop 2014, 139:32-38.
• [11]Cabezón O, Millán J, Gomis M, Dubey JP, Ferroglio E, Almería S: Kennel dogs as sentinels of Leishmania infantum, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum in Majorca Island, Spain. Parasitol Res 2010, 107:1505-1508.
• [12]Zhioua E, Kaabi B, Chelbi I: Entomological investigations following the spread of visceral leishmaniasis in Tunisia. J Vect Ecol 2007, 32:371-374.
• [13]Nougairede A, Bichaud L, Thiberville SD, Ninove L, Zandotti C, de Lamballerie X, Brouqui P, Charrel RN: Isolation of Toscana virus from the cerebrospinal fluid of a man with meningitis in Marseille, France, 2010. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2013, 13:685-688.
• [14]Karabatsos N: International Catalogue of Arboviruses Including Certain Other Viruses of Vertebrates. Am Soc Trop Med Hyg, San Antonio, TX; 1985.