Seroprevalence of Sandfly Fever Virus Infection in Military Personnel On

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Seroprevalence of Sandfly Fever Virus Infection in Military Personnel On Journal of Infection and Public Health (2017) 10, 59—63 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Seroprevalence of sandfly fever virus infection in military personnel on the western border of Iran a,c,∗ b a Ramin Shiraly , Afra Khosravi , Saman Farahangiz a Department of Community Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran b Department of Immunology, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran c Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran Received 17 November 2015; received in revised form 22 January 2016; accepted 20 February 2016 KEYWORDS Summary Military troops deployed to endemic areas are at risk of contracting Sandfly fever; sandfly fever, an arthropod-borne viral infection. Although typically a self-limited Virus; disease, sandfly fever can cause significant morbidity and loss of function among Past infection; soldiers. We conducted this study to determine the extent of past SFV infection in a group of healthy Iranian military personnel in Ilam province on the western border of Military personnel Iran. A total of 201 serum samples were tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) to detect four common sandfly fever virus serotypes. Demographic data were also collected. Overall, 37 samples (18.4%) were positive for specific IgG antibodies to sandfly viruses. Sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV) and sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV) were the most common serotypes. A positive test was inversely related to nativity (P < 0.01) but was not associated with age (P = 0.163), duration of presence in the border region (P = 0.08) or employment status (P = 0.179). Our findings indicate that past SFV infection is common among military personnel in the western border region of Iran, a Leishmania-endemic region. Therefore, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of troops presenting with acute febrile illness in similar settings. © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Community Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Tel.: +98 711 234 7977. E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Shiraly). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2016.02.014 1876-0341/© 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved. 60 R. Shiraly et al. Introduction of sandfly fever in troops serving in the border area during the autumn of 2013. The population of Sandfly fever, also called phlebotomus fever, the study consisted of all military forces deployed three-day fever or Pappataci fever, is an acute along the western border of Mehran, Ilam province. mosquito-borne infection caused by phleboviruses Inclusion criteria included being a member of the (family Bunyaviridae). The virus is transmitted armed forces (conscripted or staff) and having to humans by the bite of infected female phle- been in the area for at least 1 year, including botomine sandflies, which are also the vectors of a summer season (the period of intense sandfly the protozoan parasite Leishmania [1]. Although activity). Voluntary informed consent was required the phlebovirus genus comprises over 60 antigeni- for participation in the study. Demographic data cally distinct serotypes, only eight serotypes are including age, place of birth, employment status known to cause disease in humans. The four most and duration of presence in the border region were common serotypes associated with human infec- collected and blood samples were taken by trained tions include sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), technicians. sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV), sandfly fever Indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA) was used Cyprus virus (SFCV), and Toscana virus (TOSV) [2]. to detect specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibod- Clinical disease usually presents as an acute ies to four common strains of the virus (SFSV, SFNV, febrile illness that lasts 3 to 5 days, characterized SFCV and TOSV) in serum samples. Using the mosaic by fever, myalgia and headache. In most cases, a IgG SFV kits enables us to recognize all 4 serotypes disease follows a self-limiting course [3]. TOSV is of the virus. The laboratory kits were com- the only serotype that has been associated with mercially available from EUROIMMUN, a German acute meningitis and encephalitis [4]. company. Sandfly fever virus (SFV) infections have been The test was conducted as follows: first, cells reported from endemic regions of certain Mediter- infected with sandfly fever virus were incubated ranean and Middle Eastern countries; Phleboviruses with the patient’s diluted sera. In the case of appear to be responsible for many outbreaks of a positive reaction, specific IgG antibodies bind febrile illness among susceptible groups in these to the antigens. Next, the antibodies attached to areas [5—10]. As most native adults in endemic the antigens in the previous stage were stained regions are immune, there are few reports of clin- by a fluorescein antibody (fluorescein-labeled anti- ical cases among indigenous people [2]; therefore, human antibodies); they would be visible under a many studies have focused on SFV infection in fluorescent microscope. According to the manufac- high risk groups such as travelers to endemic areas turer’s instructions, a positive IFA test indicates and armed forces [11—13]. The disease is of par- previous (past) or acute infection with SFV. ticular importance to the military and was first Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS soft- described during World War II when nonimmune sol- ware; descriptive statistics, t-test and chi square diers entered Mediterranean regions [2,5]. test were performed. Leishmaniasis is endemic in different parts of Iran. Sandflies are vectors of both leishmaniasis and sandfly fever viruses. Therefore, it is assumed that Results SFVs are present in Leishmania-endemic areas of the country. The only published study pertaining We visited all military posts along Mehran’s west- to SFV infection in Iran was published more than ern border with Iraq. Approximately 220 military 35 years ago when Saidi et al. [14] assessed the personnel were eligible to participate in the study, prevalence of SFV infection in Isfahan province, of which 201 agreed to take part. Overall, 58% of a well-known endemic area of zoonotic cutaneous the troops were indigenous people living in Ilam leishmaniasis in central Iran [14,15]. province. The mean age of participants was 24 years The aim of this study was to assess the extent of (SD: 5.5) with a range from 19 to 46 years. Military past SFV infection in a group of military personnel in personnel included 56 (27.9%) staff officers and 145 Mehran, a small city on the western border of Iran, (72.1%) conscripted soldiers. Deployment duration which is also an endemic area of zoonotic cutaneous ranged from 12 to 156 months, with a mean of 18 leishmaniasis. months (SD: 21.1) (Table 1). Among 201 samples tested, 37 (18.4%) sera were Materials and methods found positive for phlebovirus-specific antibody by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The most com- This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ilam, mon serotype was SFSV (10.9%), followed by SFNV a province of Iran, to assess the seroepidemiology (5%), SFCV (1.5%) and TOSV (1%) (Table 2). Seroprevalence of sandfly fever virus infection in military personnel 61 residual sequelae, it may incapacitate a large Table 1 Characteristics of military personnel who number of troops and, in certain cases, require hos- participated in the study. pitalization [13]. Tests to diagnose sandfly fever are Characteristic Value not routine and efforts to diagnose the cause of Male/female: n (%) 201/0 (100/0) acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses may result Age (years): mean (SD) 24 (5.5) in further unnecessary workup and increased costs. Staff/conscripted soldiers: n (%) 56/145 (28/72) As leishmaniasis is a highly focal disease and its Duration of deployment (months): 18.1 (21.1) distribution depends on sandfly habitat [21], it is mean (SD) expected that SFVs also have a focal geographic Native/non-native: n (%) 24/177 (12/88) distribution that parallels leishmaniasis. The only previous study investigating sandfly virus infection in Iran was conducted in northeast- A positive test was inversely related to nativ- ern Isfahan, an area endemic to zoonotic cutaneous ity (P < 0.01), but was not associated with age leishmaniasis (ZCL). In this study, antibodies to (P = 0.163), duration of presence in the border SFSV and SFNV were found in 25% and 17% of the region (P = 0.08) or employment status (P = 0.179) rural population living in the area, respectively. (Table 3). The viruses were also isolated from sandflies (pre- dominantly Phlebotomus papatasi) and gerbils in this endemic region in central Iran [14]. Zoonotic Discussion cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) accounts for 80% of reported cases of leishmaniasis in Iran and there are Arboviral infections remain a major health problem endemic foci of the disease, especially in the cen- for troops deployed to endemic foci in the Middle tral, western and southwestern parts of the country East and Mediterranean basin [16]. Acute febrile [19,22]. illness associated with SFVs has been reported The results of the present study and the study among Western military forces in Middle Eastern by Saidi et al. [14] suggest that SFSV and SFNV are countries affected by war, such as Afghanistan and probably present in rural areas of central and west- Iraq [12,13]. Outbreaks of undiagnosed febrile ill- ern Iran where ZCL is endemic. Saidi et al. [14] nesses among military forces can be a challenging also identified some other phlebovirus serotypes health issue as it may elicit anxious reactions in (e.g., Salehabad & Karimabad) that have not been soldiers and necessitate a thorough investigation described as human pathogenic strains [17].
Recommended publications
  • Experimental Infection of Dogs with Toscana Virus and Sandfly
    microorganisms Article Experimental Infection of Dogs with Toscana Virus and Sandfly Fever Sicilian Virus to Determine Their Potential as Possible Vertebrate Hosts Clara Muñoz 1, Nazli Ayhan 2,3 , Maria Ortuño 1, Juana Ortiz 1, Ernest A. Gould 2, Carla Maia 4, Eduardo Berriatua 1 and Remi N. Charrel 2,* 1 Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Regional “Campus Mare Nostrum”, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; [email protected] (C.M.); [email protected] (M.O.); [email protected] (J.O.); [email protected] (E.B.) 2 Unite des Virus Emergents (UVE: Aix Marseille Univ, IRD 190, INSERM U1207, IHU Mediterranee Infection), 13005 Marseille, France; [email protected] (N.A.); [email protected] (E.A.G.) 3 EA7310, Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 Corte, France 4 Global Health and Tropical Medicine, GHMT, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, IHMT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, UNL, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 April 2020; Accepted: 19 April 2020; Published: 20 April 2020 Abstract: The sandfly-borne Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV), a close relative of the sandfly fever Sicilian phlebovirus (SFSV), is one of the most common causes of acute meningitis or meningoencephalitis in humans in the Mediterranean Basin. However, most of human phlebovirus infections in endemic areas either are asymptomatic or cause mild influenza-like illness. To date, a vertebrate reservoir for sandfly-borne phleboviruses has not been identified. Dogs are a prime target for blood-feeding phlebotomines and are the primary reservoir of human sandfly-borne Leishmania infantum.
    [Show full text]
  • Electronic Case Report Form (Ecrf)
    BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance Supplemental material placed on this supplemental material which has been supplied by the author(s) BMJ Open Supplementary Material 3 Electronic case report form (eCRF) Study: Validation and optimization of the utility of routine data for improving the quality of sepsis management in hospitals (Validierung und Optimierung der Nutzbarkeit von Routinedaten zur Qualitätsverbesserung des Sepsis-Managements im Krankenhaus) Study acronym: OPTIMISE Case-ID: |_________________________________| Explanations: - italic text: Gives explanation, is not presented in the eCRF - blue text: multiple answers possible - italic red text: condition for presentation of item or query rule 1 Schwarzkopf D, et al. BMJ Open 2020; 10:e035763. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035763 BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance Supplemental material placed on this supplemental material which has been supplied by the author(s) BMJ Open Supplementary Material 3 A. Identification of patients with sepsis 1000 random cases per study centre need to be documented by trained study physicians 0. Admission and discharge dates a. Where several stays 0 no merged to one case for billing 1 yes reasons? If a = yes, ____ how many stays/cases have Query rule: N >= 2 been merged? b. Admission and discharge Admission date: |__|__|____ Discharge date: |__|__|____ dates Admission date: |__|__|____ Discharge date: |__|__|____ Admission date: |__|__|____ Discharge date: |__|__|____ Admission date: |__|__|____ Discharge date: |__|__|____ Query rule: discharge date after admission date c.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandfly Fever
    & My gy co lo lo ro g i y V Tufan and Tasyaran, Virol Mycol 2013, 2:1 Virology & Mycology DOI: 10.4172/2161-0517.1000109 ISSN: 2161-0517 Short Communication Open Access Sandfly Fever: A Mini Review Zeliha Kocak Tufan*, Mehmet A Tasyaran and Tumer Guven Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey Introduction TOSV differs from others with its neurotropism and being an etiologic agent of central nervous system infection [24]. Although Sandfly fever, also known as Pappataci fever or phlebotomus fever the SFSV usually causes a self limited benign disease, there are some is an interesting disease mimicking other conditions which causes evidences that SFTV may lead to more severe disease, prolonged fever fever, myalgia and malaise along with abnormalities in liver enzymes and laboratory abnormalities even with neurological involvement and hematological test results [1]. Without suspicion of the disease [1,25]. itself or a presence of an epidemic, it is very hard to diagnose this disease in a non-endemic area, particularly if it is travel associated and The Mediterranean basin is the main area for sandfly fever. Reports if the anamnesis is not clear [1-5]. The differential diagnosis consists are increasingly published every day related with the presence of the of a very board spectrum list of diseases such as viral, parasitic and vector, the virus or the infection itself, from Spain to Croatia, from bacterial infections. Even hematologic malignancies and bone marrow Morocco to Iran, Italy, Portugal and Turkey [7-13,26,27].
    [Show full text]
  • (Sandfly Fever Naples Virus Species) In
    Ayhan et al. Parasites & Vectors (2017) 10:402 DOI 10.1186/s13071-017-2334-y SHORT REPORT Open Access Direct evidence for an expanded circulation area of the recently identified Balkan virus (Sandfly fever Naples virus species) in several countries of the Balkan archipelago Nazli Ayhan1, Bulent Alten2, Vladimir Ivovic3, Vit Dvořák4, Franjo Martinkovic5, Jasmin Omeragic6, Jovana Stefanovska7, Dusan Petric8, Slavica Vaselek8, Devrim Baymak9, Ozge E. Kasap2, Petr Volf4 and Remi N. Charrel1* Abstract Background: Recently, Balkan virus (BALKV, family Phenuiviridae, genus Phlebovirus) was discovered in sand flies collected in Albania and genetically characterised as a member of the Sandfly fever Naples species complex. To gain knowledge concerning the geographical area where exposure to BALKV exists, entomological surveys were conducted in 2014 and 2015, in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. Results: A total of 2830 sand flies were trapped during 2014 and 2015 campaigns, and organised as 263 pools. BALKV RNA was detected in four pools from Croatia and in one pool from BH. Phylogenetic relationships were examined using sequences in the S and L RNA segments. Study of the diversity between BALKV sequences from Albania, Croatia and BH showed that Albanian sequences were the most divergent (9–11% [NP]) from the others and that Croatian and BH sequences were grouped (0.9–5.4% [NP]; 0.7–5% [L]). The sand fly infection rate of BALKV was 0.26% in BH and 0.27% in Croatia. Identification of the species content of pools using cox1 and cytb partial regions showed that the five BALKV positive pools contained Phlebotomus neglectus DNA; in four pools, P neglectus was the unique species, whereas P.
    [Show full text]
  • Original Article Applied Research Progress of the Ecological Niche in Vector-Borne Disease
    Int J Clin Exp Med 2016;9(3):6642-6648 www.ijcem.com /ISSN:1940-5901/IJCEM0019109 Original Article Applied research progress of the ecological niche in vector-borne disease Xiangjuan Li, Wenwang Wu, Jin Fang, Fengfen Zhang, Yangguang Qin Guangxi International Travel Health Care Center, Nanning 530021, Guangxi, China Received November 3, 2015; Accepted February 10, 2016; Epub March 15, 2016; Published March 30, 2016 Abstract: In recent years, zoonotic infectious diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola, highly pathogenic avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes (SARS), West Nile fever et al. become an increasing threat to human beings through a variety of transmission routes. It has been currently reported that at least more than 200 kinds of animal infectious diseases and parasitic diseases can be transmitted to humans, which are known as zoonotic infectious diseases. Ecological niche study was conducted to determine the effect of different environmental risk factors on the transmission of vector borne infectious diseases.The literature search was made of articles published up until July 2015 in PubMed. Inclusion criteria contained ecological studies for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases that used ecological niche models. Abstracts and full texts were read and evaluated by two independent readers.We investigate the evidence of 37 studies from a total of 187 selected in PubMed. Initially, 187 abstracts were found in the PubMed, among which 154 full-text articles were retrieved. After screening abstracts and titles, 83 citations were rejected because they were not for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. 71 abstracts fulfilled the predefined criteria and were included as full texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of West Nile Virus and Sandfly-Borne Phlebovirus Infections in Anatolia
    Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases / 2014; Special Issue 1: S22-S31 JMID doi: 10.5799/ahinjs.02.2014.S1.0138 REVIEW ARTICLE Overview of West Nile Virus and Sandfly-borne Phlebovirus Infections in Anatolia Koray Ergünay1, Zeliha Koçak Tufan2 1 Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, Virology Unit, Ankara, Turkey 2 Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara Ataturk Training & Research Hospital, Infectious Diseases & Clinical Microbiology Department, Ankara, Turkey ABSTRACT Arthropod-borne (arbo) viruses are trafinsmitted to the susceptible hosts by blood-feeding arthropods such as mosqui- toes, sandflies and ticks. Arboviral infections have had a significant global public health impact during the last decades due to their resurgence and dynamic epidemiologic features. In Turkey, cases and outbreaks due to previously underes- timated arboviral infections have emerged since 2009. In this manuscript, previous and current data on two of the major arboviral infections, West Nile virus and Sandfly-borne Phleboviruses have been overviewed with a special emphasis on clinical presentation and laboratory evaluation. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2014; Special Issue 1: S22-S31 Key words: Arboviruses, West Nile Virus, WNV, Phlebotomus fever, Phlebovirus, Turkey Türkiye’de Batı Nil Virusu ve Flebovirus Enfeksiyonlarına Genel Bakış ÖZET Artropod kaynaklı (arbo) viruslar, duyarlı konaklara sivrisinek, kum sineği ve kene gibi artropodların kan emmesi yoluyla bulaşır. Son yıllarda yeniden ortaya çıkan ve epidemiyolojik özelliklerinde değişiklikler izlenen çeşitli arboviral enfeksi- yonlar, tüm dünyada önemli halk sağlığı sorunları oluşturmaktadır. Türkiye’de 2009 yılından günümüze, daha önce dikkat çekmemiş bazı arboviruslara bağlı olgular ve salgınlar ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu derlemede, iki önemli arbovirus olan Batı Nil virusu ve kum sineği (tatarcık) kaynaklı fleboviruslarla ilgili ülkemize ait veriler, klinik ve laboratuvar bulguları özellikle vurgulanarak ele alınmaktadır.
    [Show full text]
  • Sciencedirect.Com Sciencedirect
    AIX-MARSEILLE UNIVERSITE FACULTE DE MEDECINE DE MARSEILLE ECOLE DOCTORALE DES SCIENCES DE LA VIE ET DE LA SANTE THESE DE DOCTORAT Présentée par NAZLI AYHAN Née le 1er Juillet 1988 née en Turquie En vue de l’obtention du grade de DOCTEUR d’AIX-MARSEILLE UNIVERSITE Mention : Pathologie Humaine Spécialité : Maladies Infectieuses Emerging Sandfly-borne Phleboviruses in Balkan Countries: Virus isolation, Characterization, Evolution and Seroepidemiology Soutenue publiquement le 26 Septembre 2017 Composition du Jury : Monsieur le Docteur Christophe PAUPY Rapporteur Monsieur le Professeur Christophe PEYREFITTE Rapporteur Madame le Docteur Dorothée MISSE Examinateur Monsieur le Professeur Remi N CHARREL Directeur de Thése UMR "Emergence des Pathologies Virales" (EPV : Aix-Marseille Univ – IRD 190 – Inserm 1207 – EHESP – IHU Méditerranée Infection), Marseille, France ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my very great appreciation to Dr. Xavier de Lamballerie for giving me the opportunity to do my Ph.D. in his laboratory. His knowledge and enthusiasm on virology always encourage me to be a good scientist. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Remi N. Charrel, my research supervisor, for accepting me as a Ph.D. student, his guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research. He is the best supervisor ever. Big thanks to Dr. Christophe Paupy, Dr. Christophe Peyrefitte and Dr. Dorothée Misse for accepting to be in the thesis committee and their valuable comments. I would like to offer my special thanks to Dr. Bulent Alten for his precious support and contributions to this thesis. I thank Dr. Bulent Alten, Dr. Vladimir Ivovic and Dr. Petr Volf for organizing the sand fly field collection campaign in Balkan countries, it was an incredible experience for me.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandfly Virus Seroconversion Associated with Neurologic Presentation
    Sandfly virus seroconversion associated with neurologic presentation Chen Makranz, MD* ABSTRACT * Hiba Qutteineh, MD Objective: To describe the clinical presentation and unique neurologic manifestations of sandfly Hanna Bin, PhD viruses (SFVs) in the Jerusalem area. Yaniv Lustig, PhD Methods: We identified all patients with acute seroconversion to SFV at the Hadassah-Hebrew John Moshe Gomori, MD University Medical Centers during the years 2008–2013 and retrospectively collected and ana- Asaf Honig, MD lyzed the clinical and imaging data. Abed El-Raouf Bayya, MD Results: Nine patients (ranging from 1.5 to 85 years old) were identified. Presentation included acute Allon E. Moses, MD neurologic disease, mostly with fever, change in consciousness and behavior, seizures, headache, Tamir Ben-Hur, MD, meningitis, limb paresis, or myelitis. Eight patients had clinical signs of meningitis, meningoencephali- PhD tis, or encephalitis alone. Four patients had myelitis. MRI identified pathologic symmetrical changes in Diana Averbuch, MD the basal ganglia, thalami, and other deep structures in 5 patients, and additional myelitis of the spine Roni Eichel, MD was noted on imaging in 3 patients. Seven patients had long-term follow-up: 4 completely recovered Ran Nir-Paz, MD and 3 had remaining neurologic sequelae, among them 1 with permanent severe brain damage. Conclusion: Neurologic involvement associated with acute SFV infections is considered to be benign. However, in this series, all 9 patients presented with significant neurologic pathology Correspondence to associated with a unique finding of myelitis and symmetrical basal ganglia, thalami, or white mat- Dr. Nir-Paz: [email protected] ter involvement. Thus, acute SFV infection should be included in the differential diagnosis in feb- rile onset of neurologic manifestations and neuroradiologic changes.
    [Show full text]
  • Seroprevalence of West Nile, Rift Valley, and Sandfly Arboviruses in Hashimiah, Jordan
    Research Seroprevalence of West Nile, Rift Valley, and Sandfly Arboviruses in Hashimiah, Jordan Anwar Batieha,* Elias K. Saliba,† Ross Graham,‡ Emad Mohareb,† Younis Hijazi,* and Pandu Wijeyaratne§ *Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan; †Hashimiah University, Zarka, Jordan; ‡Virology Research Program, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt; §Infectious Disease Program of Nepal, USAID/EHP. We conducted a serosurvey among patients of a health center in Hashimiah, a Jordanian town of 30,000 inhabitants located near a wastewater treatment plant and its effluent channel. Serum samples from 261 patients ≥5 years of age were assessed for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies against West Nile, sandfly Sicilian, sandfly Naples, and Rift Valley viruses; the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies was 8%, 47%, 30%, and 0%, respectively. Female participants were more likely to have been infected than male. Persons living within 2 km of the treatment plant were more likely to have been infected with West Nile (p=0.016) and sandfly Sicilian (p=0.010) viruses. Raising domestic animals within the house was a risk factor for sandfly Sicilian (p=0.003) but not for sandfly Naples virus (p=0.148). All serum samples were negative for IgM antibodies against the tested viruses. Our study is the first documentation of West Nile and sandfly viruses in Jordan and calls attention to the possible health hazards of living close to wastewater treatment plants and their effluent channels. Arboviruses are transmitted by arthropods. Methods Humans become infected through the bites of blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, Study site and certain flies.
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental Infection of Dogs with Toscana Virus and Sandfly Fever Sicilian Virus to Determine Their Potential As Possible Vertebrate Hosts
    microorganisms Article Experimental Infection of Dogs with Toscana Virus and Sandfly Fever Sicilian Virus to Determine Their Potential as Possible Vertebrate Hosts Clara Muñoz 1, Nazli Ayhan 2,3 , Maria Ortuño 1, Juana Ortiz 1, Ernest A. Gould 2, Carla Maia 4, Eduardo Berriatua 1 and Remi N. Charrel 2,* 1 Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Regional “Campus Mare Nostrum”, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; [email protected] (C.M.); [email protected] (M.O.); [email protected] (J.O.); [email protected] (E.B.) 2 Unite des Virus Emergents (UVE: Aix Marseille Univ, IRD 190, INSERM U1207, IHU Mediterranee Infection), 13005 Marseille, France; [email protected] (N.A.); [email protected] (E.A.G.) 3 EA7310, Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, 20250 Corte, France 4 Global Health and Tropical Medicine, GHMT, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, IHMT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, UNL, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 April 2020; Accepted: 19 April 2020; Published: 20 April 2020 Abstract: The sandfly-borne Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV), a close relative of the sandfly fever Sicilian phlebovirus (SFSV), is one of the most common causes of acute meningitis or meningoencephalitis in humans in the Mediterranean Basin. However, most of human phlebovirus infections in endemic areas either are asymptomatic or cause mild influenza-like illness. To date, a vertebrate reservoir for sandfly-borne phleboviruses has not been identified. Dogs are a prime target for blood-feeding phlebotomines and are the primary reservoir of human sandfly-borne Leishmania infantum.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol20no12 Pdf-Version.Pdf
    Peer-Reviewed Journal Tracking and Analyzing Disease Trends pages 1969–2200 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF D. Peter Drotman Associate Editors EDITORIAL BOARD Paul Arguin, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dennis Alexander, Addlestone, Surrey, UK Charles Ben Beard, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA Timothy Barrett, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Ermias Belay, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Barry J. Beaty, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA David Bell, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Martin J. Blaser, New York, New York, USA Sharon Bloom, Atlanta, GA, USA Christopher Braden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Mary Brandt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Arturo Casadevall, New York, New York, USA Corrie Brown, Athens, Georgia, USA Kenneth C. Castro, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Charles H. Calisher, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA Louisa Chapman, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Michel Drancourt, Marseille, France Thomas Cleary, Houston, Texas, USA Paul V. Effler, Perth, Australia Vincent Deubel, Shanghai, China David Freedman, Birmingham, Alabama, USA Ed Eitzen, Washington, DC, USA Peter Gerner-Smidt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Daniel Feikin, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Stephen Hadler, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Anthony Fiore, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Nina Marano, Nairobi, Kenya Kathleen Gensheimer, College Park, MD, USA Martin I. Meltzer, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Duane J. Gubler, Singapore David Morens, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Richard L. Guerrant, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA J. Glenn Morris, Gainesville, Florida, USA Scott Halstead, Arlington, Virginia, USA Patrice Nordmann, Fribourg, Switzerland Katrina Hedberg, Portland, Oregon, USA Tanja Popovic, Atlanta, Georgia, USA David L. Heymann, London, UK Didier Raoult, Marseille, France Charles King, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Pierre Rollin, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Keith Klugman, Seattle, Washington, USA Ronald M. Rosenberg, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA Takeshi Kurata, Tokyo, Japan Frank Sorvillo, Los Angeles, California, USA S.K.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandfly – Pappataci Fever in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the New-Old Disease
    SANDFLY – PAPPATACI FEVER IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: THE NEW-OLD DISEASE &Mirsada Hukić*, Irma Salimović-Bešić Institute of Clinical Microbiology, University of Sarajevo Clincs Centre, Bolnička , Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Corresponding author Abstract Sandfl y fever viruses (SFV) are endemic in the Mediterranean, Middle East, northern African and western Asian countries. Toscana virus (TOSV), serotype of Sandfl y fever Naples virus, is among of the three most prevalent viruses associated with meningitis during the warm seasons in northern Mediterranean countries. Th e historical data of the sandfl y fever (Pappataci fever) indicates its origin in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of th century. Th ere is a long period of time for which there are no data on re- search related to the SFV in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Th e purpose of the study was to investigate the presence of sandfl y fever in Bosnia and Herzegovina in recent years. Th e of serum samples were obtained from February until September from a group of patients with febrile illness of unknown etiology. Th e sera were tested on the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies against TOSV by specifi c serology test- recomLine Bunyavirus IgG/IgM immuno-line assay. Th e recent TOSV-infection was confi rmed in the patients in each year during the study: , (/) in ; , (/) in and , (/) in . Th e presence of specifi c antibodies to TOSV in the sera of the patients in recent years indicates re-emerging character of the disease in this region. It would be necessary to make biological, epidemiological and clinical research on the TOSV and related phleboviruses to elucidate the problem of SFV in Bosnia and Her- zegovina.
    [Show full text]