Full Genome Characterization of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Causing a Fatal Infection in an Immunocompromised Patient in Tunisia
Valentina Curini,
Maurilia Marcacci,
Salma Abid,
Monia Ouederni,
Awatef ElMoussi,
Latifa Charaa,
Wafa Achour,
Ramzi Ouhichi,
Latifa Maazaoui,
Adriano Di Pasquale,
Hakim ElGhord,
Ahlem Gzara,
Alessandro Ripani,
Francesca Di Giallonardo,
Cesare Cammà,
Alessio Lorusso,
Ilhem Boutiba-Ben Boubaker
Affiliations
Valentina Curini
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Maurilia Marcacci
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Salma Abid
Laboratory «Antimicrobial Resistance»(LR99ES09), Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1007, Tunisia
Monia Ouederni
Department of Peadiatrics: Immuno-Haematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, National Center of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Tunisia-University Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Awatef ElMoussi
Laboratory «Antimicrobial Resistance»(LR99ES09), Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1007, Tunisia
Latifa Charaa
National Influenza Center, Laboratory of Microbiology, Charles Nicolle Hospital, Tunis 1007, Tunisia
Wafa Achour
Laboratory Department, National Center of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Ramzi Ouhichi
Tunisian Country WHO Office, Tunis 1003, Tunisia
Latifa Maazaoui
Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Directorate, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Adriano Di Pasquale
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Hakim ElGhord
Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Directorate, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Ahlem Gzara
Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Directorate, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Alessandro Ripani
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Francesca Di Giallonardo
The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Cesare Cammà
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Alessio Lorusso
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (IZS-Teramo), 64100 Teramo, Italy
Ilhem Boutiba-Ben Boubaker
Laboratory «Antimicrobial Resistance»(LR99ES09), Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1007, Tunisia
Human orthopneumovirus (HRSV) is a virus belonging to the Pneumovirus genus that causes lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in infants worldwide. In Tunisia, thousands of infants hospitalized for LRTI are found to be positive for HRSV but no whole genome sequences of HRSV strains circulating in this country are available thus far. In this study, five nasal swab samples collected at different time points from a three-month-old female baby with severe immunodeficiency that was hospitalized for acute bronchiolitis were investigated by next generation sequencing. The Tunisian sequences from this study originated from samples collected in 2021, belong to the ON1 genotype of HRSV-A, and are clustered with European sequences from 2019 and not from 2020 or 2021. This is most likely related to local region-specific transmission of different HRSV-A variants due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Overall, this is the first report describing the whole genome sequence of HRSV from Tunisia. However, more sequence data is needed to better understand the genetic diversity and transmission dynamic of HRSV.
