Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41615838›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2025

Imported aseptic meningitis due to Toscana virus infection in Austria since 2006, including a case series from 2023.

Zsòfia I Szojka, David M Florian, Adriana Cabal, Werner Ruppitsch, Stephan W Aberle, Ferdinand Otto, Jeremy V Camp

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Zsòfia I SzojkaInstitute for Medical Microbiology & Hygiene, Division for Public Health, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria; ECDC fellowship Programme, Public Health Microbiology path (EUPHEM), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: zsofia-ilona.szojka@ages.at.
David M FlorianCenter for Virology, National Reference Center for Arboviruses, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Adriana CabalInstitute for Surveillance and Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Division for Public Health, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria.
Werner RuppitschInstitute for Medical Microbiology & Hygiene, Division for Public Health, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria; Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Faculty of Food Technology, Food Safety and Ecology, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica, Montenegro.
Stephan W AberleCenter for Virology, National Reference Center for Arboviruses, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Ferdinand OttoDepartment of Neurology, Paracelsus Medical University, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Salzburg, Austria.
Jeremy V CampCenter for Virology, National Reference Center for Arboviruses, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesToscana virus (TOSV) is an emerging sandfly-borne virus, causing meningitis and encephalitis in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. Only sporadic cases have been diagnosed in Austria over the past 20 years. We aim to identify and describe TOSV-associated aseptic meningitis (TOSV-AM) cases in Austria between 2006 and 2023.

methodsWe report a series of four imported cases of TOSV-AM diagnosed in Salzburg between July and September 2023, after travel to Italy. In addition, we analyzed all TOSV cases identified by the Austrian National Reference Center (2006-2018). Diagnosis was confirmed by immunoglobulin (Ig)M/G serology. Partial N-gene Sanger sequencing was performed for three cases in total.

resultsBefore the 2023 case series, we retrospectively identified a total of six TOSV-AM cases (three male and three female; median age was 43 years [22-53]). All four 2023 patients (three male and one female; median age was 45.5 years [37-50]) presented with clinical signs of meningitis, including headache, with three reporting insect bites. Lumbar puncture confirmed the diagnosis in three cases and IgM/IgG serology confirmed infection in all cases. TOSV detection by polymerase chain reaction in serum was possible in one patient, with nucleic acid sequencing identifying a lineage B strain. Previously diagnosed case patients were identified as lineage A.

conclusionWe report a total of 10 serologically confirmed cases of TOSV-AM in Austria since 2006. Despite evidence of growing incidence of TOSV circulation in neighboring countries, this is the first well-characterized case series in Austria. Considering the recent rise in TOSV cases in endemic regions, likely driven by climate change and urbanization, imported TOSV-AM cases in Austria may increase in the future.

Indexed as

Bunyaviridae InfectionsCommunicable Diseases, ImportedMeningitis, AsepticSandfly fever Naples virusAdultAnimalsAustriaFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTravelYoung AdultAseptic meningitisImported casesPhlebovirusSandfly feverToscana virusVector-borne disease

Identifiers

PMID41615838
PMCPMC12657270

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.