Novel Tick Phlebovirus Genotypes Lacking Evidence for Vertebrate Infections in Anatolia and Thrace, Turkey

Abstract

We screened ticks and human clinical specimens to detect and characterize tick phleboviruses and pathogenicity in vertebrates. Ticks were collected at locations in Istanbul (Northwest Anatolia, Thrace), Edirne, Kırklareli, and Tekirdağ (Thrace), Mersin (Mediterranean Anatolia), Adiyaman and Şanlıurfa (Southeastern Anatolia) provinces from 2013–2018 and were analyzed following morphological identification and pooling. Specimens from individuals with febrile disease or meningoencephalitic symptoms of an unknown etiology were also evaluated. The pools were screened via generic tick phlebovirus amplification assays and products were sequenced. Selected pools were used for cell culture and suckling mice inoculations and next generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 7492 ticks were screened in 609 pools where 4.2% were positive. A phylogenetic sequence clustering according to tick species was observed. No human samples were positive. NGS provided near-complete viral replicase coding sequences in three pools. A comprehensive analysis revealed three distinct, monophyletic virus genotypes, comprised of previously-described viruses from Anatolia and the Balkans, with unique fingerprints in conserved amino acid motifs in viral replicase. A novel tick phlebovirus group was discovered circulating in the Balkans and Turkey, with at least three genotypes or species. No evidence for replication in vertebrates or infections in clinical cases could be demonstrated.

Survey and Characterization of Jingmen Tick Virus Variants

“…However, the full range of tick-borne viral agents is unknown and deep sequencing techniques have unearthed a vast diversity of viruses in ticks, including several novel strains and new viral species [3]. Despite several isolates appearing as commensal, the pathogenic potential and outcomes in vertebrate infections have not been explored in many viruses [3,4].…”

“…The most prominent tick-borne virus is CCHFV, which emerged in 2002 and spread through Anatolia, with 8742 cases and mortality of 0.2%–0.88% reported during 2008–2017 (). Furthermore, we have detected Tamdy orthonairovirus, chuviruses, flavi-like viruses, rhabdoviruses and novel phleboviruses in ticks from various regions of Turkey, mostly with unexplored human or animal health impact [4,20,21]. This study was carried out to investigate JMTV in ticks, their common vertebrate hosts, and in human infections with CCHFV infections or unidentified etiology.…”

Impact of nanopore-based metagenome sequencing on tick-borne virus detection

“…Tick-associated phleboviruses identified in the pools include Brown dog tick phlebovirus 2 (BDTP2), phlebovirus Strandja, tick phlebovirus Anatolia, and Lesvos virus ( Table 1 ). Strandja and Anatolia phleboviruses were mainly reported in Rhipicephalus ticks from Bulgaria and Turkey (Emanet et al, 2019 ; Ohlendorf et al, 2019 ), while BDTP2 appears widespread, detected in China, and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Balkans (Sameroff et al, 2019 ; Bratuleanu et al, 2022 ; Guo et al, 2022 ). Lesvos virus was originally reported from Hae.…”

“…Interestingly, BTV3 infections were observed at an unprecedented frequency of 82.5%. BTV3 and tick phleboviruses appear to be a ubiquitous virus in Anatolia, having been detected in various tick species (Dinçer et al, 2017 ; Brinkmann et al, 2018 ; Emanet et al, 2019 ; Ergünay et al, 2020 ). Tick phleboviruses are also widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and America (Ohlendorf et al, 2019 ; Sameroff et al, 2019 ; Bratuleanu et al, 2022 ; Guo et al, 2022 ).…”

Prevalence of Tick-Borne Viruses from Ticks Breeding on Camels Imported to Egypt During the Period from January 2019 to April 2021

“…Phleboviruses are typically found in the New World's tropics and the Old World's half-dry and pleasant zones, such as the Mediterranean, North Africa, and central and western Asia 21 . Until the recent appearance of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in China and the Heartland virus (HRTV) in the USA, TBPVs were widely ignored as causal means of human disorder 22,23 . The HRTV is directly associated with the SFTSV and shows a 60-70% similarity with it 6,24 .…”