@article{PAR00010834,
  title = {{F}irst isolation of {M}imivirus in a patient with pneumonia},
  author = {{S}aadi, {H}. and {P}agnier, {I}. and {C}olson, {P}. and {C}herif, {J}. {K}. and {B}eji, {M}. and {B}oughalmi, {M}. and {A}zza, {S}. and {A}rmstrong, {N}. and {R}obert, {C}. and {F}ournous, {G}. and {L}a {S}cola, {B}. and {R}aoult, {D}idier},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground. {M}imiviridae {M}imivirus, including the largest known viruses, multiply in amoebae. {M}imiviruses have been linked to pneumonia, but they have never been isolated from patients. {T}o further understand the pathogenic role of these viruses, we aimed to isolate them from a patient presenting with pneumonia. {M}ethods. {W}e cultured, on {A}canthamoeba polyphaga amoebae, pulmonary samples from 196 {T}unisian patients with community-acquired pneumonia during the period 2009-2010. {A}n improved technique was used for {M}imivirus isolation, which used agar plates where the growth of giant viruses is revealed by the formation of lysis plaques. {M}imivirus serology was tested by microimmunofluorescence and by bidimensional immunoproteomic analysis using {M}imivirus strains, to identify specific immunoreactive proteins. {T}he new {M}imivirus strain genome sequencing was performed on {R}oche 454 {GS} {FLX} {T}itanium, then {AB} {SOL}i{D} instruments. {R}esults. {W}e successfully isolated a {M}imivirus ({LBA}111), the largest virus ever isolated in a human sample, from a 72-year-old woman presenting with pneumonia. {E}lectron microscopy revealed a {M}imivirus-like virion with a size of 554 +/- 10 nm. {T}he {LBA}111 genome is 1.23 megabases, and it is closely related to that of {M}egavirus chilensis. {F}urthermore, the serum from the patient reacted specifically to the virus compared to controls. {C}onclusions. {T}his is the first {M}imivirus isolated from a human specimen. {T}he findings presented above together with previous works establish that mimiviruses can be associated with pneumonia. {T}he common occurrence of these viruses in water and soil makes them probable global agents that are worthy of investigation.},
  keywords = {{M}imivirus ; giant virus ; pneumonia ; human virus ; {TUNISIE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{C}linical {I}nfectious {D}iseases},
  volume = {57},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {{E}127--{E}134},
  ISSN = {1058-4838},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.1093/cid/cit354},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00010834},
}