Acute meningitis due to Toscana virus infection among patients from both the Spanish Mediterranean region and the region of Madrid

• Published in: Journal of clinical virology 2003, Vol.26 (1), p.79-84
• Main Authors: Echevarrı́a, José-Manuel, de Ory, Fernando, Guisasola, Marı́a-Eulalia, Sánchez-Seco, Marı́a-Paz, Tenorio, Antonio, Lozano, Álvaro, Córdoba, Juan, Gobernado, Miguel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute aseptic meningitis; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibodies, Viral - cerebrospinal fluid; Biological and medical sciences; Bunyaviridae Infections - blood; Bunyaviridae Infections - cerebrospinal fluid; Bunyaviridae Infections - epidemiology; Bunyaviridae Infections - virology; Cerebrospinal fluid; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin G - cerebrospinal fluid; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Immunoglobulin M - cerebrospinal fluid; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Insect Vectors - virology; Male; Medical sciences; Mediterranean Region - epidemiology; Meningitis, Viral - blood; Meningitis, Viral - cerebrospinal fluid; Meningitis, Viral - epidemiology; Meningitis, Viral - virology; Middle Aged; Phlebovirus; Psychodidae - virology; Retrospective Studies; Sand fly fever viruses; Sandfly fever Naples virus - immunology; Sandfly fever Naples virus - pathogenicity; Seasons; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Spain - epidemiology; Toscana virus; Urban Population; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the nervous system; Viremia - epidemiology; Viremia - virology
• ISSN: 1386-6532; 1873-5967
• DOI: 10.1016/S1386-6532(02)00041-0

Toscana virus (TOSV) is a member of the genus Phlebovirus that is transmitted to humans by two different species of sand fly and causes acute aseptic meningitis (AAM) and meningoencephalitis in Central Italy. Fifteen cases of AAM due to TOSV have been found at the Spanish province of Granada, but no data regarding the presence of TOSV-related disease in other regions of Spain have been still reported. A collection of 88 serum and 53 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples taken from 81 selected patients with AAM of unknown aetiology, residing at Madrid or at the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain, was retrospectively studied for presence of TOSV-specific antibodies from both IgG and IgM classes. Anti-TOSV IgG was also investigated in 457 serum samples from healthy individuals, aged 2–60 years, residing at the south of the Region of Madrid. Specific IgM in serum and/or intrathecally produced anti-TOSV IgG were detected in seven patients, three residents from the Mediterranean region and the remainder four from the Region of Madrid. The overall prevalence of anti-TOSV among the healthy population studied was 5%. These results confirm the role of TOSV as an agent causing AAM in the Spanish Mediterranean coast, extend these findings to the central region of the country and suggest that TOSV might be producing infection and neurological disease in every area of Spain harbouring significant populations of the viral vectors.