Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever infection in domestic animals in Marmara region, Western Turkey

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) has been an important health issue in Turkey since the last decade. Although there is a well-described endemic area, the infection tends to disseminate into non-endemic areas. In the South Marmara region, a non-endemic area, serological and virological investigations were performed to evaluate the infection status in livestock animals. Among 508 blood samples collected from 5 different locations, 33.1% were positive for CCHF-neutralizing antibodies. The highest seroprevalence rate was detected in goats (66.0%), followed by sheep (31.8%) and cattle (13.0%) (p< 0.0001). There were extensive differences in seroprevalence rates in neighboring locations, i.e., 7.8% in Keles and 47.6% in the Orhaneli district of Bursa province. Using antigen-capture ELISA (Ag-ELISA) and real-time reverse transcription PCR (rt RT-PCR), 6.6% of the tested animals were found to be viremic at the time of sampling. Two samples that were negative by Ag-ELISA produced a positive signal in rt RT-PCR, indicating the higher sensitivity of the latter method for detecting viremic animals. The results of this study demonstrate the wide distribution of CCHF virus in some locations in a non-endemic area, which may lead to the generation of focal infectious areas

Keywords

• Cattle
• Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
• ELISA
• real-time RT-PCR
• sheep
• Turkey

Marmara bölgesindeki evcil hayvanlarda Kırım-Kongo Kanamalı Ateşi enfeksiyonu

Abstract

Kırım-Kongo kanamalı ateşi (KKKA) son on yıllık süreç içerisinde Türkiye’de oldukça önemli bir sağlık problemi olarak gündemde yer almaktadır. Endemik bölge olarak tanımlanan alanlar dışında kalan non-endemik bölgelerde de enfeksiyonun yayılma eğiliminde olduğu görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada non-endemik bölge olarak tanımlanan Güney Marmara bölgesindeki çiftlik hayvanlarında enfeksiyon durumunu değerlendirebilmek amacıyla serolojik ve virolojik araştırmalar yapılmıştır. Bu amaçla 5 farklı noktadan 508 adet kan örneği toplanmıştır. Bu örneklerin %33,1’i KKKA-nötralizan antikorları yönünden pozitif çıkmıştır. En yüksek seroprevalans değeri keçilerde (%66,0) saptanırken, bu değeri sırasıyla koyunlar (%31,8) ve sığırlar (%13,0) izlemiştir (p<0,0001). Seroprevalans değerlerinde komşu bölgeler arasında büyük farklar olduğu görülmüştür. Örneğin; Keles’te %7,8 olan seroprevalans değeri Orhaneli’de %47,6 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Antijen ELISA (Ag-ELISA) ve real-time reverse transkriptaz PCR (rt RT-PCR) kullanılarak test edilen hayvanların %6,6’sının örnekleme sırasında viremi fazında olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ag-ELISA ile negatif, rt RT-PCR ile pozitif sonuç veren iki örnek, ikinci metodun viremi fazındaki hayvanları saptamada daha duyarlı olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu çalışmanın sonucu KKKA virusunun non-endemik bölgenin bazı noktalarında oldukça yaygın olduğunu ve bu noktaların enfeksiyon odağı olabileceğini göstermiştir

Keywords

• ELISA
• Kırım-Kongo kanamalı ateşi
• koyun
• real-time RT-PCR
• Sığır
• Türkiye

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