Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks Isolated from Ruminants in Jahrom, Fars Province, Southern Iran

Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is an emerging tick-borne viral zoonotic disease that is endemic in Iran. The CCHF virus is spread by an RNA virus of the genus Orthonairovirus , the family Nairoviridae. CCHF has been identified as the most frequent viral hemorrhagic fever in Iran. The route of CCHF transmission to humans is through infected tick bites, contact with infected livestock, infected blood or tissues of humans.

The aim of this study was to investigate the infection of livestocks with different species of ticks and also to determine the presence of CCHF virus in the ticks in Jahrom township.

A total of 200 ticks were collected from Jahrom township, Fars Province, Southern Iran. To detect virus in infected ticks, total RNA was extracted using the RNeasy Mini Kit Qiagen and subjected to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

Of all the ticks tested, twelve (6%) were positive for the virus, 124 (62%) belonged to the species Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 37 (18.5%) belonged to Hyalomma anatolicum, 23 (11.5%) belonged to Hyalomma marginatus, 7 (3.5%) belonged to Hyalomma asiaticum, 4 (2%) belonged to Hyalomma dromedarii, and 5 (2.5%) belonged to Rhipicephalus bursa. Of the 200 ticks collected in the area, 117 (58.5%) were male and 83 (41.5%) were female.

In this study, for the first time, we analyzed tick samples collected from Jahrom township for the presence of CCHF virus. The findings of our study might be valuable for designing preventive measures regarding CCHF in Fars province, although further studies are required.