title: Circulation of a Meaban-like virus in yellow-legged gulls and seabird ticks in the western Mediterranean basin.
abstract: In recent years, a number of zoonotic flaviviruses have emerged worldwide, and wild birds serve as their major reservoirs. Epidemiological surveys of bird populations at various geographical scales can clarify key aspects of the eco-epidemiology of these viruses. In this study, we aimed at exploring the presence of flaviviruses in the western Mediterranean by sampling breeding populations of the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), a widely distributed, anthropophilic, and abundant seabird species. For 3 years, we sampled eggs from 19 breeding colonies in Spain, France, Algeria, and Tunisia. First, ELISAs were used to determine if the eggs contained antibodies against flaviviruses. Second, neutralization assays were used to identify the specific flaviviruses present. Finally, for colonies in which ELISA-positive eggs had been found, chick serum samples and potential vectors, culicid mosquitoes and soft ticks (Ornithodoros maritimus), were collected and analyzed using serology and PCR, respectively. The prevalence of flavivirus-specific antibodies in eggs was highly spatially heterogeneous. In northeastern Spain, on the Medes Islands and in the nearby village of L'Escala, 56% of eggs had antibodies against the flavivirus envelope protein, but were negative for neutralizing antibodies against three common flaviviruses: West Nile, Usutu, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. Furthermore, little evidence of past flavivirus exposure was obtained for the other colonies. A subset of the Ornithodoros ticks from Medes screened for flaviviral RNA tested positive for a virus whose NS5 gene was 95% similar to that of Meaban virus, a flavivirus previously isolated from ticks of Larus argentatus in western France. All ELISA-positive samples subsequently tested positive for Meaban virus neutralizing antibodies. This study shows that gulls in the western Mediterranean Basin are exposed to a tick-borne Meaban-like virus, which underscores the need of exploring the spatial and temporal distribution of this flavivirus as well as its potential pathogenicity for animals and humans.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, Montpellier, France; Centre de recherche de la Tour du Valat, Arles, France.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arnal
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Barcelona, Spain; Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA), Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerdà-Cuéllar
authors.affiliation: UMR1161 Virologie INRA, ANSES, ENVA, Animal Health Laboratory ANSES, Maisons-Alfort, France.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecollinet
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pearce-Duvet
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA), Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Busquets
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García-Bocanegra
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA), Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain.
authors.forename: Nonito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pagès
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche de la Tour du Valat, Arles, France.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vittecoq
authors.affiliation: Département des Sciences de la Vie, Faculté des Sciences de Gabès, Gabès, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Abdessalem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammouda
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Recherche et de Conservation des Zones Humides, University of Guelma, Guelma, Algeria; Center of Excellence for Research in Biodiversity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Boudjéma
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Samraoui
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garnier
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Raül
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Département des Sciences de la Vie, Faculté des Sciences de Gabès, Gabès, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Slaheddine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selmi
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: González-Solís
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR346, Unité d'Epidémiologie Animale, Saint Genès Champanelle, France.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jourdain
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boulinier
mesh_terms: D000462:Algeria; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000821:virology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005416:Flavivirus; D018177:Flavivirus Infections / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary*; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010063:Ovum / Q000821:virology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013030:Spain; D013987:Ticks / Q000821:virology*; D014416:Tunisia