Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in tortoises and Hyalomma aegyptium ticks in East Thrace, Turkey: potential of a cryptic transmission cycle
Background Recent reports have demonstrated the presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) genomic material in Hyalomma aegyptium ticks feeding primarily on tortoises belonging to the genus Testudo . This raises the question if these ticks and their hosts play a role in the natural tr...
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| Published in: | Parasites & vectors Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 201 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
BioMed Central
19.04.2020
BioMed Central Ltd Springer Nature B.V BMC |
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 1756-3305, 1756-3305 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Background
Recent reports have demonstrated the presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) genomic material in
Hyalomma aegyptium
ticks feeding primarily on tortoises belonging to the genus
Testudo
. This raises the question if these ticks and their hosts play a role in the natural transmission dynamics of CCHFV. However, the studies are limited, and assessing the relevance of
H. aegyptium
in perpetuating the virus in nature, and a potential spillover to humans remains unknown. This study aimed to detect CCHFV in
H. aegyptium
ticks and their tortoise hosts in the East Thrace region of Turkey, where
H. aegyptium
is the most common human-biting tick and where a high density of tortoises of the genus
Testudo
can be found.
Methods
During the study period, 21 blood samples from different tortoises (2
T. hermanni
and 19
T. graeca
), 106 tick pools (containing 448 males, 152 females, 93 nymphs and 60 larvae) collected from 65 tortoises (5
T. hermanni
and 60
T. graeca
), 38 adult unfed questing ticks (25 males and 13 females, screened individually) and 14 pools (containing 8 nymphs and 266 larvae) of immature unfed questing ticks collected from the ground were screened for CCHFV genome by nested PCR and partial genomes sequenced.
Results
As a result of the screening of these 179 samples, 17 (9.5%) were detected as positive as follows: 2 of 21 blood samples (9.52%), 13 (containing 18 nymphs in 3 pools, and 52 males and 8 females in 10 pools) of 106 tick pools from tortoises (12.26%), and 2 of 38 adult questing ticks (5.26%). No positive result was determined in 14 pools of immature questing ticks.
Conclusions
Previous studies have shown that reptiles can participate in the transmission of arthropod-borne viruses, but they may contribute to different aspects of the disease ecology and evolution of tick-borne viral pathogens. Our results indicate the presence of CCHFV in questing and feeding
H. aegyptium
ticks as well as tortoise hosts. This may indicate that CCHFV circulates in a cryptic transmission cycle in addition to the primary transmission cycle that could play a role in the natural dynamic of the virus and the transmission to humans. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1756-3305 1756-3305 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s13071-020-04074-6 |