INFECTIONS DUE TO SANDFLY FEVER VIRUS SEROTYPE TOSCANA IN SPAIN

Of the sandfly fever viruses known to be human pathogens (serotypes To scana [TOS], Sicilian [SFS], and Naples [SFN]), only TOS has demonstra ted neurotropic activity. Infections by TOS have been reported in Medi terranean countries, but the virus was previously isolated only in Ita ly and Portugal. We isolated 15 strains of TOS between 1988 and 1996 f rom the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with acute aseptic meningitis in Granada, Spain. This finding led us to study the presence of antibo dies to TOS, SFS, and SFN in 1,181 adults and 87 children from differe nt regions of Spain. We found that the prevalence of antibodies to the se viruses was 26.2%, 2.2, and 11.9%, respectively; these rates imply that TOS infections are common in Spain.