title: 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.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia. sakhrias@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakhria
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales", 13385, Marseille, France. sulaf_alwassouf@yahoo.com.|IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13385, Marseille, France. sulaf_alwassouf@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sulaf
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alwassouf
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia. fwasfi@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Wasfi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fares
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales", 13385, Marseille, France. laurence.bichaud@univ-amu.fr.|IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13385, Marseille, France. laurence.bichaud@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bichaud
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia. khalil.dachraoui@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dachraoui
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales", 13385, Marseille, France. cgdmalkan@gmail.com.|IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13385, Marseille, France. cgdmalkan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cigdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alkan
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia. zied_zoghlami@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Ziad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zoghlami
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales", 13385, Marseille, France. xavier.de-lamballerie@univ-amu.fr.|IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13385, Marseille, France. xavier.de-lamballerie@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: de Lamballerie
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Vector Ecology, Tunis, Tunisia. elyes.zhioua@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elyes
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zhioua
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales", 13385, Marseille, France. remi.charrel@univ-amu.fr.|IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13385, Marseille, France. remi.charrel@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Remi N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Charrel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D002044:Bunyaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D004285:Dogs; D009500:Neutralization Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D016856:Phlebovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000821:virology*; D029301:Sandfly fever Naples virus / Q000235:genetics*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral