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Since 1977, the Pasteur Institute of madagascar has been studying, during six surveys, the arboviruses of Nosy-Be area, in the north-west of Madagascar. 47.2 p. 100 out of 271 human sera and 11.3 p. 100 out of 150 animal sera (mostly from Lemurs), tested for antibodies to 16 arboviruses by the haemagglutination inhibition test, are positive. The results show an important prevalence of Flaviviruses. West-Nile and Dengue 1 viruses were probably circulating some years before the surveys. Antibodies against Sindbis and Rift Valley Fever viruses, were found only in few subjects. Bunyamwera and Tahyna viruses are absent. The rate of positive Lemurs is weak, particularly in Lemur macaco species. Flaviviruses are the most frequent. 12262 haematophagous diptera (11965 Culicidae belonging to 40 species) were caught . Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are both present. Arbovirus isolation attempts from 394 mosquito pools failed; only Mengo virus was isolated from four pools of Erethmapodites quinquevittatus and one pool of Aedes (Skusea) sp.

Experiments on mice demonstrated the ability of 3 flaviviruses and 1 bunyavirus to suppress the activity of the effectors of the graft-versus-host (GVH) reaction. The conditions of the suppression of the primary immunological recognition were shown to differ in infections caused by different viruses. In experimental flavivirus infections caused by Langat, dengue 2 or yellow fever (strain 17D) viruses T-suppressor cells were activated, and their activity was realized only in respect to syngeneic or semisyngeneic target cells. In mice infected with Tahyna virus (a bunyavirus) no suppressor cells capable of suppressing the activity of the effectors of the GVH reaction were detected. The suppression of this reaction, not linked with the activity of the detected T-suppressor cells, was observed in the Langat virus infection under conditions of bilateral incompatibility when both the donor and the recipient were infected.