Molecular Detection of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks Collected From Infested Livestock Populations in a New Endemic Area, South of Iran Publisher Pubmed



Farhadpour F¹ ; Telmadarraiy Z¹ ; Chinikar S² ; Akbarzadeh K¹ ; Moemenbellahfard MD³ ; Faghihi F⁴ ; Fakoorziba MR³ ; Jalali T² ; Mostafavi E⁵ ; Shahhosseini N⁶ ; Mohammadian M¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Tropical Medicine and International Health Published:2016

Abstract

Objective: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral zoonotic disease with potentially fatal systemic effects on man. We aimed to determine the presence of CCHF virus among collected ticks from domestic livestock from October 2012 to September 2013. Methods: A total of 1245 hard and soft ticks were collected from naturally infested ruminants in Marvdasht County, Fars Province, south of Iran. Nine tick species and one unidentified species in four disparate genera were detected. A total of 200 ticks were randomly selected and analysed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the presence of CCHF virus genome. Results: The viral genome was detected in 4.5% (9 samples) of the studied tick population. The infected ticks belonged to the species of Hyalomma marginatum' Hyalomma anatolicum and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. The viruses detected in these three tick species were clustered in the same lineage as Matin and SR3 strains in Pakistan and some other Iranian strains. These results indicate that the ticks were wildly infected with a genetically closely related CCHF virus in the region. Conclusion: Regular controls and monitoring of livestock to reduce the dispersion of ticks and providing information to those involved in high-risk occupations are urgently required. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.