Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever orthonairovirus isolate nucleocapsid protein gene, partial cds

The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a member of the genus Orthonairovirus and family Nairoviridae, is transmitted by ticks and causes severe hemorrhagic disease in humans. To study the epidemiology of CCHFV in different ecosystems in Xinjiang, China, a total of 58,932 ticks were collected from Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin, Tianshan Mountain, and Altai Mountain from 2014 to 2017. Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum was the dominant tick species in Tarim and Junggar basins, whereas Dermacentor nuttalli and Hyalomma detritum were found in Tianshan Mountain and Altai Mountain, respectively. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of the CCHFV small (S) genome segment was used for the molecular detection. The CCHFV-positive percentage was 5.26%, 6.85%, 1.94%, and 5.56% in Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin, Tianshan Mountain, and Altai Mountain, respectively. Sequences of the S segment were used for phylogenetic analysis and the results showed that the newly identified CCHFV strains belonged to two clades. Our study confirms that H. asiaticum asiaticum is the major vector of CCHFV in desert habitats which is consistent with previous studies, and also suggests that H. detritum and D. nuttalli are emerging vectors for CCHFV in Xinjiang. Moreover, this study reports the presence of CCHFV in the mountain habitat of Xinjiang for the first time, suggesting that future surveillance of CCHFV should also include mountainous areas.

克里米亚-刚果出血热病毒（Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, CCHFV）隶属于内罗毕病毒科（Nairoviridae）正内罗毕病毒属（Orthonairovirus），可经蜱虫传播，引发人类重症出血性疾病。为探究中国新疆不同生态系统中CCHFV的流行病学特征，本研究于2014—2017年间，从塔里木盆地、准噶尔盆地、天山山脉及阿尔泰山脉共采集蜱虫58932只。其中，亚洲璃眼蜱指名亚种（Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum）为塔里木盆地与准噶尔盆地的优势蜱种，草原革蜱（Dermacentor nuttalli）与残缘璃眼蜱（Hyalomma detritum）分别为天山山脉与阿尔泰山脉的优势蜱类。本研究通过逆转录聚合酶链式反应（Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction）扩增CCHFV的小（S）基因组片段以开展分子检测，结果显示塔里木盆地、准噶尔盆地、天山山脉及阿尔泰山脉的CCHFV阳性率分别为5.26%、6.85%、1.94%及5.56%。对S片段序列进行系统发育分析（phylogenetic analysis）后发现，本次新鉴定的CCHFV毒株可分为两个进化枝。本研究证实亚洲璃眼蜱指名亚种是荒漠生境中CCHFV的主要传播媒介，该结果与既往研究一致；同时表明残缘璃眼蜱与草原革蜱为新疆地区CCHFV的新兴传播媒介。此外，本研究首次在新疆山地生境中检测到CCHFV，提示未来的CCHFV监测工作应将山地生境纳入监测范围。