A new case of meningitis due to Toscana virus.

To editor: Toscana Virus belongs to the genus Phleobovirus, family Bunyaviridae. They are transmitted in the Mediterranean area by Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi sandflies (Braito et al., 1997). Toscana virus (TOSV) was first isolated in 1971 from Phlebotomus perniciosus in Monte Argentario (Grosseto, Tuscany) (Verani et al., 1982). Sandflyborne TOSV was recognized as a leading cause of acute meningitis between May and October in Central Italy and in other northern Mediterranean countries, TOSV is among the 3 most prevalent viruses associated with meningitis during the warm seasons (Charrel et al., 2005). TOSV must be considered an emerging pathogen especially in those travelers who had visited endemic areas in the summer. Although TOSV has been detected in sandflies in Italy (Braito et al., 1998), we are not aware of any historically documented human infection with TOSV in Calabria. We report a TOSV infection in a 32-year-old Italian male patient, who works and lives in the province of Cosenza. On July 10, 2010 he was admitted to the emergency department of Cosenza Hospital. He had suffered from a severe headache since the previous day and had dysphasia. On admission, the patient had neck rigidity with a fever reaching 38°C, vomiting and nausea. In recent months the patient had not traveled to other re-