The Prevalence of Antibodies against Sandfly Fever Viruses and West Nile Virus in Cyprus

Abstract

Background: Sandfly fever is an incapacitating disease caused by sandfly-borne Phleboviruses that can lead to men­ingitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus, can induce neu­roinvasive disease manifested by meningitis, encephalitis or acute flaccid paralysis. Both vectors are endemic in Cy­prus and very active during summer. The aims of this study were to determine first the prevalence of sandfly fever viruses (SFV) and WNV infections in Cyprus and second, to investigate their role in central nervous system (CNS) infections.
 Methods: For the prevalence study, 327 sera collected in 2013 and 2014 were tested for anti-SFV and anti-WNV IgG using indirect immunofluorescence assay and ELISA, respectively. In order to investigate a possible role of SFV and WNV in CNS infections, 127 sera of patients presenting symptoms of SFV or WNV infections were screened for IgM specific to SFV and WNV.
 Results: The overall anti-SFV IgG seroprevalence was 28% and was increasing with age (P< 0.01). The seropreva­lence rate for anti-WNV IgG in Cyprus was 5%. Concerning the role of SFVs in CNS infections, anti-SFV IgM was detected in 8 out of 127 sera from selected patients presenting relevant symptoms of infections during vector’s active period. In addition, anti-WNV IgM were detected in 17 out of the 127 patients with compatible symptoms.
 Conclusion: The findings confirm the presence of sandfly fever and WNV in Cyprus and should, therefore, be con­sidered in the differential diagnosis of patients with febrile illness/meningitis.

Emerging Trends in the Epidemiology of West Nile and Usutu Virus Infections in Southern Europe

“…USUV strains detected in mosquitoes belonged to a putative novel lineage Europe 5 (24). WNV/USUV infections were also reported in other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (France, Turkey, Cyprus) (5, 25–40). This mini-review provides an update on the epidemiology/molecular epidemiology of WNV and USUV infections in Southern Europe and neighboring countries within a multidisciplinary “One Health” context.…”

Sandfly-Borne Phleboviruses in Portugal: Four and Still Counting

“…In addition to those reported cases of acute disease, retrospective serological studies performed on humans presenting with febrile syndromes and/or compatible symptoms with SFSV infections, together with serosurveys of healthy individuals, indicate that Sicilian phlebovirus, or closely related viruses, circulate in three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. In Europe, cases have been reported from countries such as France, Italy, Greece, Kosovo, Turkey and Cyprus [28,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. In Africa, there are studies from Algeria, Sudan and Egypt [14,40,41], and in Asia, there are seroprevalence reports from Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan [42][43][44][45][46][47].…”

The Current Status of Protozoan Parasitic Diseases in Cyprus: A Narrative Literature Review

“…In either case, infection could take place from the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, which are known insect vectors for leishmaniasis on the island. Sandflies are also known to be vectors for Sandfly Fever Viruses and West Nile Virus in Cyprus [27].…”