Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in tortoises and Hyalomma aegyptium ticks in East Thrace, Turkey: potential of a cryptic transmission cycle

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 d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Parasites & vectors Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 201
Main Authors:	Kar, Sirri, Rodriguez, Sergio E, Akyildiz, Gurkan, Cajimat, Maria N B, Bircan, Rifat, Mears, Megan C, Bente, Dennis A, Keles, Aysen G
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 19-04-2020 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Adults Arachnids Biting Blood Crimean hemorrhagic fever Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus Cryptic transmission cycle DNA Ecological effects Feeding Females Fever Genomes Genomics Haemorrhage Hemorrhage Hemorrhagic fevers Hosts Hyalomma aegyptium Laboratories Larvae Males Nucleotide sequence Nymphs Pathogens PCR Polymerase chain reaction Pools Population density Reptiles Reptiles & amphibians Studies Taxonomy Testudines Testudo Thrace Ticks Tortoise Tortoises Turkey Turtles Viruses Ukraine Middle East Thrace Istanbul Turkey Turkey United States > US Black Sea Thrace Cryptic transmission cycle Hyalomma aegyptium Turkey Tortoise Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
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Summary:	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. 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. 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. 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.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1756-3305 1756-3305
DOI:	10.1186/s13071-020-04074-6