Persistence of Toscana virus in sugar and blood meals of phlebotomine sand flies: epidemiological and experimental consequences

Abstract

Abstract Many virological studies have tested the persistence of enveloped RNA viruses in various environmental and laboratory conditions and shown their short-term persistence. In this article, we analyzed Toscana virus (TOSV) infectivity, a pathogenic sandfly-borne phlebovirus, in two different conditions: in the sugar meal and blood meal of sand flies. Our results showed that TOSV RNA was detectable up to 15 days in sugar solution at 26°C and up to 6 hours in blood at 37°C. Moreover, TOSV remains infective for 7 days in sugar solution and for minimum 6 hours in rabbit blood. TOSV has shown persistent infectivity/viability under different conditions, which can lead to important epidemiological consequences and raises new hypotheses about its natural cycle.