Emergence of Toscana Virus, Romania, 2017-2018

We describe a series of severe neuroinvasive infections caused by Toscana virus, identified by real-time reverse transcription PCR testing, in 8 hospitalized patients in Bucharest, Romania, during the summer seasons of 2017 and 2018. Of 8 patients, 5 died. Sequencing showed that the circulating virus belonged to lineage A.

Automated summary

We report on severe neuroinvasive infections caused by Toscana virus, identified through real-time reverse transcription PCR testing, in 8 hospitalized patients in Bucharest, Romania during the summers of 2017 and 2018. Among the 8 patients, 5 died, with sequencing revealing that the circulating virus belonged to lineage A.