Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in ticks collected from imported camels in Egypt

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is one of the utmost broadly distributed tick-borne viruses, with an infection resulting in a fatality rate of up to 30%. During this study period, 25,000 hard adult ticks of Hyalomma species were collected from freshly slaughtered imported camels to determine the presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and genetic lineage of the virus. Ticks were pooled and analyzed for the existence of CCHFV using nested RT- PCR and real-time reverse transcription PCR; the genome was detected in 18 (1.44%) tick pools. Partial genome sequences reveal an adjacent relationship with strains from South Africa to Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, Senegal, and Mauritania, corresponding to the Africa I and III genotypes. This study indicates the presence of CCHFV in Egypt and illustrates the potential for tick-borne dissemination of the virus. Further studies focused on not only tick samples, but also human samples are epidemiologically valuable to obtain exact data in the region.