High Rates of Neutralizing Antibodies to Toscana and Sandfly Fever Sicilian Viruses in Livestock, Kosovo

Abstract

Toscana and sandfly fever Sicilian viruses (TOSV and SFSV, respectively), both transmitted by sand flies, are prominent human pathogens in the Old World. Of 1,086 serum samples collected from cattle and sheep during 2013 in various regions of Kosovo (Balkan Peninsula), 4.7% and 53.4% had neutralizing antibodies against TOSV and SFSV, respectively.

Keywords

• Bunyaviridae
• Phlebovirus
• arbovirus
• Balkan
• Mediterranean
• vector-borne infections