Presence of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus in sheep in Tunisia, North Africa
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(2020) 16:441
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Presence of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus in sheep in Tunisia, North Africa Médiha Khamassi Khbou1,2* , Rihab Romdhane2, Asma Amina Foughali2, Limam Sassi2, Vanessa Suin3, Mourad Rekik4 and M’hammed Benzarti1
Abstract Background: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv) is a flavivirus that circulates in a complex cycle involving small mammals as amplifying hosts and ticks as vectors and reservoirs. The current study aimed to investigate the presence of TBEv in Tunisian sheep. A sample of 263 adult sheep were selected from 6 localities where Ixodes ricinus is well established. Sera were screened using ELISA for TBEv IgG detection, then the doubtful and positive sera were tested by the seroneutralisation test (SNT) and screened for West Nile Virus (WNv) IgG for cross-reaction assessment. Results: The ELISA for TBEv IgG detected one positive serum and 17 borderlines. The SNT showed one positive serum among the 18 tested, giving an overall antibody prevalence of 0.38% (95% CI = 0.07–2.12%). All but one serum tested negative to WNv ELISA. None of the sheep farmers reported neurological signs among sheep or humans in their households. Conclusions: The results may indicate the circulation of TBEv for the first time in Tunisia and in North Africa. Further studies based on either virus isolation or RNA detection, are needed to confirm the presence of TBEv in North Africa. Keywords: Tick-borne encephalitis, Sheep, Antibodies, Seroneutralisation, Tunisia
Background The Flavivirus genus comprises several arboviruses of both medical and veterinary importance, such as West Nile virus (WNv), Usutu virus (USUv), Yellow fever virus (YFv), Louping ill virus (LIv) and closely related subtypes (Turkish Sheep Encephalitis virus (TSEv), Greek Goat Encephalitis virus (GGEv) and Spanish Sheep Encephalitis virus (SSEv)), and Tick-borne * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Laboratory of Infectious Animal Diseases, Zoonosis and Sanitary Regulation, Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, Univ. Manouba, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia 2 Laboratory of Parasitology, Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, Univ. Manouba, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
encephalitis virus (TBEv) [1]. The latter is the causative agent of the most important zoonotic arboviral disease in Europe [2]. Three subtypes of TBEv were identified according to their geographic distribution, namely European (TBEv-Eu), Siberian (TBEv-S), and Far Eastern (TBEv-FE) [3]. In the European Union countries, the number of human cases was estimated to 2000–3000 during the last decade, while in Russia it was about 1500–2000 cases per year [4]. According to several authors [5, 6], climate changes foster the expansion of the TBEv to western Europe and increase its occurrence to new areas. Indeed, in 2016, a mark
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