Toscana Virus Infection Clinical Characterization

Background

Toscana virus (TOSV) is a sandfly-borne phlebovirus causing central nervous system (CNS) infection in Mediterranean countries, during summer season. However, clinical aspects of the disease caused by this virus are poorly known by clinicians, so that its prevalence is probably underestimated due to a lack of diagnosis.

Study design

We gathered data from all available case series and retrospective studies identifying TOSV as the causative viral agent. The informations of age, sex, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, imaging results and clinical outcomes of TOSV infection were recorded and analyzed.

Results

In our review a total of 95 articles including TOSV infections resulting in a total of 1,381 cases were analyzed. Our findings indicate, TOSV affects individuals across various age groups, with a median age of 44.45 years. A notable disparity in infection rates between genders, with men being significantly more likely to present symptoms due to TOSV than women, with a sex ratio of 2.0 (p<0.001). The clinical presentation of TOSV infection encompasses a range of symptoms, including fever, headache, retro-orbital pain, neurological and muscular manifestations with less common reports of cutaneous and gastrointestinal symptoms. To date, six fatalities have been attributed to TOSV infections, with a median age of 76 years.

Diagnostic evaluation of TOSV infections often involves the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, where findings may include an elevated white blood cell count.

Conclusions

These findings underscore the diverse clinical manifestations of TOSV infections and highlight the importance of considering this pathogen in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with acute febrile illness, especially in endemic regions. TOSV represents an emerging infectious threat that warrants inclusion in the diagnostic protocols for patients presenting with CNS, particularly within the Mediterranean basin or for those with recent travel history to endemic regions during warmer months when sandflies are actively circulating.