title: Toscana virus isolated from sandflies, Morocco.
abstract: To investigate the transmission of phleboviruses, a total of 7,057 sandflies were collected in well-known foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis and were identified to species level according to morphological characters.Collected sandflies were tested by Nested PCR for the presence of Phleboviruses and subsequently by viral isolation on Vero cells. The corresponding products were sequenced. Toscana virus was isolated, for the first time, from 5 pools of sandflies.Hence, Toscana virus should be considered a potential risk that threatens public health and clinicians should be aware of the role of Toscana virus in cases of meningitis and encephalitis in Morocco.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Maladies Vectorielles, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. nargys@gmail.com.|Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Bioorganique, URAC C22, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II Casablanca, Mohammedia, Morocco. nargys@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nargys
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Es-sette
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Maladies Vectorielles, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. malika_ajaoud@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Malika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ajaoud
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie Médicale, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. angalatifa@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Latifa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Anga
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Bioorganique, URAC C22, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II Casablanca, Mohammedia, Morocco. f_mellouki@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Fouad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mellouki
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Maladies Vectorielles, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. meryem.lemrani@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meryem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lemrani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007303:Insect Vectors; D009018:Morocco; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology*; D029301:Sandfly fever Naples virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014776:Virus Cultivation