Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Infection in Domestic Ruminants in Van Province, a Non-endemic Region in Turkey

Abstract

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease of humans that is most widespread in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Southeast Europe. The disease has continued to be a health problem in Turkey and other endemic countries in recent years. CCHF virus does not cause clinical disease in animal hosts but develops an antibody response and a transient viraemia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the status of CCHF infection serologically and virologically in livestock in the Van region, a non-endemic area in Turkey. Methods: A total of 491 whole blood and 491 serum specimens were collected from cattle, sheep and goats in different locations of Van province in Turkey from May 2020 to October 2021. To determine the CCHFV-specific antibody, all sera from animals were tested with a double-Ag ELISA-Ab kit. An RT-PCR assay was performed on total leucocyte samples for the virological study to detect the presence of European lineage-1 CCHFV nucleic acids and viraemic animals. Result: The prevalence of CCHFV-specific antibodies in animals was found to be 36.4%. The seroprevalence values detected were 11.6%, 64.45% and 81.63% in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. In the RT-PCR assay, 1.22% (6/491) of the tested animals were found to be viraemic at the time of sampling.