Relationship Between Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Strains Circulating in Iran and Turkey: Possibilities for Transborder Transmission

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Mahzounieh M., Dincer E., Faraji A., Akin H., Akkutay A. Z., ÖZKUL A.

VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES, vol.12, no.9, pp.782-785, 2012 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 12 Issue: 9
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Doi Number: 10.1089/vbz.2011.0928
  • Journal Name: VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.782-785
  • Keywords: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Iran, Phylogenetic analysis, S-segment, Turkey, NEIGHBOR-JOINING METHOD, EPIDEMIOLOGY, AFRICA
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an important zoonotic viral disease that is asymptomatic in infected livestock, but poses a serious threat to humans. The high fatality rate may be due to phylogenetic variations in the virus, transmission routes, and a lack of an efficient surveillance system for the disease. The geographical features of the eastern and southeastern borders of Turkey may facilitate transmission of viruses between countries of the region. Therefore in this study we focused on the genetic relationship between Turkish and Iranian CCHF viruses based on their S-segment sequences. The research was performed on a total of 104 blood samples from small ruminants reared in southwest Iran. The results of phylogenetic analysis showed that Iranian CCHF virus isolates were closely related to human-originating Turkish Group II viruses from a European lineage reported previously.