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. 2023 Jan 4:13:1091908.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1091908. eCollection 2022.

High rates of antibodies against Toscana and Sicilian phleboviruses in common quail Coturnix coturnix birds

Nazli Ayhan  1 , José Domingo Rodríguez-Teijeiro  2   3 , Marc López-Roig  2   3 , Dolors Vinyoles  2   3 , Josep Anton Ferreres  2 , Abir Monastiri  2   3 , Remi Charrel  1 , Jordi Serra-Cobo  2   3
Affiliations

High rates of antibodies against Toscana and Sicilian phleboviruses in common quail Coturnix coturnix birds

Nazli Ayhan et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Birds are involved natural cycle of a number of vector-borne viruses in both rural and urban areas. Toscana (TOSV) and Sicilian (SFSV) phleboviruses are sandfly-borne viruses in the genus Phlebovirus that can cause diseases in human. However, there is limited information on the role of the birds in sandfly-borne phleboviruses natural cycle and reservoirs ofthese viruses remain unknown.

Methods: In this study, we analyzed Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) sera from Spain to identify the seroprevalence of these two phleboviruses. We tested respectively, 106 and 110 quail serum against TOSV and SFSV from 2018, 2019, and 2021 from two locations in northern Spain with using virus neutralization test.

Results: We identified high neutralizing antibody rates for SFSV (45.45%) and TOSV (42.45%) with yearly fluctuation.

Discussion: This is the first identification of SFSV and TOSV neutralizing antibodies in wild birds. High seroprevalence rates of TOSV and SFSV in quail birds raises the question whether birds have a role as amplifying hosts in the natural cycle of phleboviruses.

Keywords: Coturnix coturnix; SFSV; TOSV; birds; common quail; phlebovirus; reservoir.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Map showing one of the possible migration routes of common quails (Coturnix coturnix) from winter areas to breeding areas. Letters correspond to Alp (A) and Mallorca (B) locations.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Sandfly Fever Sicilian virus (SFSV) (scratched) and Toscana virus (TOSV) (uniform gray) seroprevalence as a function of (A) location, (B) age classes, and (C) years. Error bars represent 95% binomial confidence intervals (CIs).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The biological cycle and migration routes of quails. Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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