Toscana virus meningitis case in Switzerland: an example of the ezVIR bioinformatics pipeline utility for the identification of emerging viruses

S Cordey; M Bel; T J Petty; M Docquier; L Sacco; L Turin; P Cherpillod; S Emonet; M Louis-Simonet; E M Zdobnov; J Ambrosioni; L Kaiser

doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2014.11.010

Toscana virus meningitis case in Switzerland: an example of the ezVIR bioinformatics pipeline utility for the identification of emerging viruses

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Apr;21(4):387.e1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2014.11.010. Epub 2014 Nov 26.

Authors

S Cordey¹, M Bel², T J Petty³, M Docquier⁴, L Sacco², L Turin⁵, P Cherpillod², S Emonet⁶, M Louis-Simonet⁷, E M Zdobnov⁸, J Ambrosioni⁵, L Kaiser²

Affiliations

¹ Swiss National Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Infections, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Virology, Infectious Diseases Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: samuel.cordey@hcuge.ch.
² Swiss National Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Infections, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Virology, Infectious Diseases Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁴ University of Geneva Medical School and Genomics Platform, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Laboratory of Virology, Infectious Diseases Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁶ Laboratory of Bacteriology, University Hospitals of Geneva & Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁷ Internal Medicine Department, University Hospitals of Geneva & Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁸ Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland; Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, UK.

PMID: 25658528
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmi.2014.11.010

Abstract

Toscana virus (TOSV) represents a frequent cause of viral meningitis in the Mediterranean Basin that remains neglected in neighbouring countries. We report a documented TOSV meningitis case in a traveller returning from Tuscany to Switzerland. While routine serological and PCR assays could not discriminate between TOSV and Sandfly fever Naples virus infection, a high-throughput sequencing performed directly on the cerebrospinal fluid specimen and analysed with the ezVIR pipeline provided an unequivocal viral diagnostic. TOSV could be unequivocally considered as the aetiological agent, proving the potential of ezVIR to improve standard diagnostics in cases of infection with uncommon or emerging viruses.

Keywords: Diagnostic, ezVIR; Toscana virus; high-throughput sequencing; meningitis.

Publication types

Case Reports
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Bunyaviridae Infections / diagnosis*
Bunyaviridae Infections / pathology
Cerebrospinal Fluid / virology
Computational Biology
Humans
Male
Meningitis / diagnosis*
Meningitis / pathology
Middle Aged
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sandfly fever Naples virus / classification
Sandfly fever Naples virus / genetics
Sandfly fever Naples virus / isolation & purification*
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Switzerland
Young Adult