title: Surveillance of Arthropod-Borne Viruses and Their Vectors in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions Within the MediLabSecure Network.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Arboviruses, viruses transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, and fleas are a significant threat to public health because of their epidemic and zoonotic potential. The geographical distribution of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile (WN), Rift Valley fever (RVF), Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika has expanded over the last decades. Countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions are not spared. Outbreaks of WN are repeatedly reported in the Mediterranean basin. Human cases of RVF were reported at the southern borders of the Maghreb region. For this reason, establishing the basis for the research to understand the potential for the future emergence of these and other arboviruses and their expansion into new geographic areas became a public health priority. In this context, the European network "MediLabSecure" gathering laboratories in 19 non-EU countries from the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions seeks to improve the surveillance (of animals, humans, and vectors) by reinforcing capacity building and harmonizing national surveillance systems to address this important human and veterinary health issue. The aim of this review is to give an exhaustive overview of arboviruses and their vectors in the region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The data presented underline the importance of surveillance in the implementation of more adapted control strategies to combat vector-borne diseases. Partner laboratories within the MediLabSecure network present a wide range of infrastructures and have benefited from different training programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although reporting of arboviral presence is not carried out in a systematic manner, the expansion of the area where arboviruses are present cannot be disputed. This reinforces the need for increasing surveillance capacity building in this region to prevent future emergences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Anna-Bella
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Failloux
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouattour
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Institut National d'Hygiène, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Chafika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faraj
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, HU-ESRL-VERG, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Filiz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gunay
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Public Health, Laboratory of Immunology, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Eco-Epidemiologie Parasitaire et Génétique des Populations, Institut Pasteur of Algeria, Alger, Algeria.
authors.forename: Zoubir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Harrat
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Virology and Molecular Diagnostics, Institute of Public Health, Skopje, Macedonia.
authors.forename: Elizabeta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jancheska
authors.affiliation: Parasitic and Zoonotic Diseases Department, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanani
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed Amin
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kenawy
authors.affiliation: Department of Control of Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania.
authors.forename: Majlinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kota
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty, Laboratory for Applied Zoology, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pajovic
authors.affiliation: Vector Borne and Parasitic Diseases Epidemiology Department, National Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Yerevan, Armenia.
authors.forename: Lusine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paronyan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Laboratory of Medical and Veterinary Entomology, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petric
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Vectorial Diseases, Institut Pasteur of Morocco, Casablanca, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarih
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Ramallah, Palestine.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawalha
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Disease Control, Tripoli, Libya.
authors.forename: Taher
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shaibi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, University of Prishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Kurtesh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sherifi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systematics and Molecular Phylogeny, Institute of zoology, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sulesco
authors.affiliation: Department of Control of Infectious Diseases, Vector Control Unit, Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania.
authors.forename: Enkelejda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Velo
authors.affiliation: Department of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Lobna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gaayeb
authors.affiliation: Department of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Victoir
authors.affiliation: French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, MIVEGEC Unit, IRD224-CNRS 5290-Montpellier University, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Robert
keywords: Arboviruses; Emergence; Mediterranean and Black Sea regions; Surveillance; Vectors