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Microbiology & Virology 2018
J u n e 2 1 - 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
P a r i s , F r a n c e
Page 30
Archives of Clinical Microbiology
ISSN 1989-8436
E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Microbiology &
Virology
I
t has previously been suggested that southern Tunisian oases may be
suitable areas for the circulation of flaviviruses. In order to anticipate and
prevent possible epidemiological spread of flaviviruses in humans and
domestic animals, the ecology of their transmission in these areas needs
to be better understood. In this study, we investigated the exposure of the
laughing dove (
Spilopelia senegalensis) to West Nile virus
(WNV) and
Usutu
virus
(USUV) in four southern Tunisian oases that differ regarding vegetation
structure and distance to the coast. Anti-flavivirus antibodies were detected
in 17% of sampled doves. Ten per cent of the total tested doves were West
Nile virus (WNV) seropositive and 4% were Usutu virus (USUV) seropositive,
which provides the first evidence of USUV circulation in Tunisian birds. Our
results also showed that the occurrence of anti-flavivirus antibodies increased
with decreasing distance to coast, suggesting that doves inhabiting coastal
oases were more exposed to flaviviruses compared with those inhabiting
inland oases. We also found a significantly higher occurrence probability of
antibodies in adult doves compared with young ones, which underlines likely
the effect of exposure time. Overall, our results suggest that the laughing dove
may be used for WNV and USUV surveillance in southern Tunisia. They also
stress the need for investigations combining data on birds and mosquitoes
to better understand the ecological factors governing the circulation of
flaviviruses in this area.
Keywords:
Flaviviruses, oasis, Tunisia, Usutu virus, West Nile virus, wild bird
Biography
Ayadi Tasnim is a Phd student in biology at the faculty of sci-
ences of Gabes “Faculte des sciences de Gabes”, Tunisia. Her
search field is “eco-epidemiology of pathogens in wildlife in Tu-
nisian oases, and wildlife diseases”.
tasnimayadiii@gmail.comWild bird exposure to flaviviruses in southern Tunisian Oases
Tasnim Ayadi
1
, Abdessalem Hammouda
1
, Sylvie Lecollinet
2
,
Thierry Boulinier
3
and Slaheddine Selmi
1
1
University of Gabes, Tunisia
2
Laboratoire de Sante Animale de Maisons-Alfort, France
3
CEFE-CNRS, France
Tasnim Ayadi et al., Arch Clin Microbiol 2018 Voulume: 9
DOI: 10.4172/1989-8436-C3-011