First detection of Jingmen tick virus in Corsica, France and development of a real time detection system for multiple tick-associated jingmenviruses

Abstract

Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) is a recently discovered segmented RNA virus, closely related to flaviviruses. It was identified for the first time in 2014, in China and subsequently in Brazil. Following this discovery, JMTV-related sequences have been identified in arthropods, vertebrates (including humans), plants, fungus and environmental samples from Asia, America, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Several studies suggest an association between these segmented flavi-like viruses, termed jingmenviruses, and febrile illness in humans. The development of rapid diagnostic assays for these viruses is therefore crucial to be prepared for a potential epidemic, for the early detection of these viruses via vector surveillance or hospital diagnosis. In this study, we designed a RT-qPCR assay to detect tick-associated jingmenviruses, validated it and tested its range and limit of detection with six tick-associated jingmenviruses using in vitro transcripts. Then we screened ticks collected in Corsica (France) from different livestock species, in order to determine the distribution of these viruses on the island. In total, 6,269 ticks from eight species were collected from 763 cattle, 538 horses, 106 sheep and 218 wild boars and grouped in 1,715 pools. We report the first detection of JMTV in Corsica, in Rhipicephalus bursa, Hyalomma marginatum and R. sanguineus ticks collected from cattle and sheep. The highest prevalence was found in the Rhipicephalus genus. The complete genome of a Corsican JMTV was obtained from a pool of Rhipicephalus bursa ticks and shares between 94.7% and 95.1% nucleotide identity with a JMTV sequence corresponding to a human patient in Kosovo and groups phylogenetically with European JMTV strains. These results show that a Mediterranean island such as Corsica could act as a sentinel zone for future epidemics.