Epidemiological investigation of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus infection among the one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in southern Tunisia

Bouaicha, Faten; Eisenbarth, Albert; Elati, Khawla; Schulz, Ansgar; Smida, Boubaker Ben; Bouajila, Mohsen; Sassi, Limam; Rekik, Mourad; Groschup, Martin H.; Khbou, Médiha Khamassi

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101601

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In addition, anti-CCHFV IgG antibodies were detected in two out of thirty-eight tested slaughterhouse workers [ 17 ]. More recently, an unexpectedly high seroprevalence of CCHFV was reported in camels in Southern Tunisia [ 18 ]. In addition, these camels were reported to be infested by CCHFV infected Hyalomma impeltatum ticks [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, an unexpectedly high seroprevalence of CCHFV was reported in camels in Southern Tunisia [ 18 ]. In addition, these camels were reported to be infested by CCHFV infected Hyalomma impeltatum ticks [ 18 ]. Our results confirm these previous studies and suggest that CCHFV is circulating in Tunisia, albeit at a very low level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally anti-CCHFV IgG antibodies were detected in two out of thirty-eight tested slaughterhouse workers [ 17 ]. More recently, a highly unexpected seroprevalence of CCHFV (89.7%) was reported in camels ( Camelus dromedarius ) in Southern Tunisia [ 18 ]. These results paved the way for further investigations into this highly pathogenic virus in Tunisia, especially with the presence of potential vectors of CCHFV, Hyalomma spp., in the Mediterranean basin, and the absence of routine animal surveillance in Tunisia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Serological Evidence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Rift Valley Fever Virus in Ruminants in Tunisia

et al. 2021

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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV, Nairoviridae family) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV, Phenuiviridae family) are zoonotic vector-borne pathogens with clinical relevance worldwide. Our study aimed to determine seroprevalences of these viruses and potential risk factors among livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) in Tunisia. Sera were tested for antibodies against CCHFV (n = 879) and RVFV (n = 699) using various enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and indirect immunofluorescence assays (IIFA). The overall seroprevalence of IgG antibodies was 8.6% (76/879) and 2.3% (16/699) against CCHFV and RVFV, respectively. For CCHF seropositivity bioclimatic zones and breed were potential risk factors for the three tested animal species; while the season was associated with cattle and sheep seropositivity, tick infestation was associated with cattle and goats seropositivity and age as a risk factor was only associated with cattle seropositivity. Age and season were significantly associated with RVFV seropositivity in sheep. Our results confirm the circulation of CCHFV and RVFV in Tunisia and identified the principal risk factors in ruminants. This knowledge could help to mitigate the risk of ruminant infections and subsequently also human infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Serological Evidence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Rift Valley Fever Virus in Ruminants in Tunisia

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“…This high year-round infestation implies either a lack or inadequacy of measures currently applied to control the ticks. Besides the effects on animal health and constraints on productivity, one of the possible consequences of such levels of tick infestation is the risk of the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as CCHF (in another study using the same samples collected for our study, a large proportion of the camels were positive for CCHFv by serology and one tick specimen was also infected by CCHFv [ 8 ]). There is an urgent need for regular and intensive application of measures intended to control tick infestation of camels in Southern Tunisia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenology and phylogeny of Hyalomma spp. ticks infesting one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the Tunisian Saharan bioclimatic zone

et al. 2021

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In this study, we report the results of a survey of Hyalomma ticks infesting one-humped camels in southern Tunisia. Examinations were conducted every second or third month on 406 camels in Tataouine district from April 2018 to October 2019. A total of 1902 ticks belonging to the genus Hyalomma were collected. The ticks were identified as adult H. impeltatum (41.1%; n = 782), H. dromedarii (32.9%; n = 626), H. excavatum (25.9%; n = 493), and H. marginatum for a single specimen. Although the camels were infested by ticks throughout the year, the highest overall infestation prevalence was observed in April 2018 (p < 0.01). The overall infestation intensity varied between 2.7 and 7.4 ticks/animal. There were no statistically significant differences in tick infestation prevalence based on age categories of the camels, and the overall infestation prevalence was between 82.7% and 97.4%. Female camels were significantly more infested with ticks (88.3%) than males (65.5%) (p < 0.01). The infestation prevalence of camels varied significantly according to the region where sampling took place (p < 0.01), but no correlations were found with abiotic factors. The preferred attachment sites for adult Hyalomma ticks were the sternum (38.3%; n = 729/1902), around the anus (36.2%; n = 689/1902), udder (18.4%; n = 350/1902), and inner thigh (6.9%; n = 132/1902). Morphological classification of ticks was corroborated by sequencing the cytochrome c oxidase I (Cox1) and 16S rDNA genes, and these sequences were also used to infer phylogenetic relationships. A single H. dromedarii seemed to be a natural hybrid with H. rufipes. More attention should be devoted by the veterinary services to the infestation of camels by ticks.

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“…1, showed no neutralising effect. These two weak, positive ELISA results might be due to recent CCHFV infection in the sheep, since both ewes belonged to a farm in the same district (Tataouine) where CCHFV was recently detected in one tick collected on camels (Bouaicha et al., 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presence of antibodies to Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in sheep in Tunisia, North Africa

Khbou

Romdhane

Zaafouri³

et al. 2021

Veterinary Medicine & Sci

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Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an emerging tick-borne disease causing severe and fatal haemorrhagic syndrome in humans. Hyalomma spp. ticks are the primary vectors and sheep are important CCHF virus (CCHFV)-amplifying hosts. In this study, blood samples and ticks collected in October 2019 from 270 sheep from 15 farms across Tunisia constituted the main research material. Moreover, the sera of the same animals taken at different periods between 2018 and 2019 were also used to obtain comparative results. To investigate the presence of anti-CCHFV antibodies in sheep, all sera were tested using ELISA. Reactive sera were further characterised by a virus neutralisation test (VNT). Overall, one out of the 270 tested sheep was both ELISA-and strongly VNT-positive to CCHFV. Another two sheep were borderline ELISA-positive but did not exhibit neutralising antibodies. Ninety-one ticks were collected from all sampled sheep, of which 34 (37.4%) belonged to Hyalomma spp. This is the first report of anti-CCHFV antibodies in sheep from Tunisia. Both the results of this study and the recent CCHFV detection in ticks collected from camels in southernThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

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Epidemiological investigation of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus infection among the one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in southern Tunisia

Cited by 20 publications

References 34 publications

First Serological Evidence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Rift Valley Fever Virus in Ruminants in Tunisia

First Serological Evidence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Rift Valley Fever Virus in Ruminants in Tunisia

Phenology and phylogeny of Hyalomma spp. ticks infesting one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the Tunisian Saharan bioclimatic zone

Presence of antibodies to Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in sheep in Tunisia, North Africa

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