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Babanki virus is a subtype of the Sindbis virus, a widespread arthropod-borne alphavirus circulating in Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Characterized by rashes and arthritis, clinical infections due to Sindbis were mainly reported in Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe. However, its sub-type, Babanki virus, was reported in Northern Europe and Africa, where its epidemiology potential remains poorly understood. The diagnosis of alphaviruses is mainly based on serological testing and conventional PCR methods, which have considerable limits. In this study, we developed a real-time qRT-PCR assay for the detection of Babanki virus. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the newly established assay were evaluated using in vitro standard RNA and related viruses relevant to the African context, respectively. In addition, its diagnostic sensitivity was assessed using a subset of Babanki virus-positive and -negative mosquito pools collected from the field. The new real-time qRT-PCR assay exhibited a 100% specificity, a 95% detection limit of 1 RNA molecule/reaction, and a diagnostic sensitivity of up to 120 pfu/reaction. This newly established assay could be useful not only for the detection of Babanki virus during epidemics but also in future experimental and surveillance studies focusing on their epidemiology and pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echovirus 11 has emerged as a major public health concern, causing sepsis in neonates in many European countries in recent years. In Africa, especially West Africa, where resources and diagnostic capacities are limited, only sporadic cases have been reported. To better understand the recent molecular epidemiology of E11 in West Africa, we characterized twenty-three echovirus 11 strains isolated through the acute flaccid paralysis and environmental surveillance systems for polio from 2013 to 2023, using high-throughput sequencing. Our data are noteworthy due to identifying for the first time a recombinant strain from an acute flaccid paralysis case and represent the first focus to date on molecular characterization of echovirus 11 in West Africa. Moreover, our data show that echovirus 11 diverged from 1970 (95% HPD range, 1961–1979) and evolved into four distinct clades, with the virus spread from West Africa to Europe, exhibiting two introductions in France around 2017, from Senegal and Guinea. Furthermore, the in silico analysis reveals four non-conservative amino acid substitutions in the VP1 sequences of the European strains associated with neonatal sepsis in newborns and a conserved amino acid motif in the VP1 protein toward enterovirus genotypes. Our data provide new insights into the epidemiology of echovirus 11 and point to the crucial need to implement specific surveillance programs targeting non-polio enteroviruses for the rapid identification of emerging or re-emerging enterovirus species, particularly in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wesselsbron is a neglected, mosquito-borne zoonotic disease endemic to Africa. The virus is mainly transmitted by the mosquitoes of the Aedes genus and primarily affects domestic livestock species with teratogenic effects but can jump to humans. Although no major outbreak or fatal case in humans has been reported as yet worldwide, a total of 31 acute human cases of Wesselsbron infection have been previously described since its first isolation in 1955. However, most of these cases were reported from Sub-Saharan Africa where resources are limited and a lack of diagnostic means exists. We describe here two molecular diagnostic tools suitable for Wesselsbron virus detection. The newly established reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and reverse-transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification assays are highly specific and repeatable, and exhibit good agreement with the reference assay on the samples tested. The validation on clinical and veterinary samples shows that they can be accurately used for Wesselsbron virus detection in public health activities and the veterinary field. Considering the increasing extension of Aedes species worldwide, these new assays could be useful not only in laboratory studies for Wesselsbron virus, but also in routine surveillance activities for zoonotic arboviruses and could be applied in well-equipped central laboratories or in remote areas in Africa, regarding the reverse-transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]