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Molecular epidemiology of Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever in Bulgaria—An update
Author(s) -
Papa Anna,
Pappa Styliani,
Panayotova Elitsa,
Papadopoulou Elpida,
Christova Iva
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.24400
Subject(s) - molecular epidemiology , virology , epidemiology , crimean–congo hemorrhagic fever , clade , virus , strain (injury) , biology , bunyaviridae , phylogenetics , genetics , medicine , genotype , gene , tick , anatomy
Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is endemic in Bulgaria. During 2013–2014, 11 confirmed CCHF cases have been reported in the country (seven in 2013 and four in 2014). The present study provides the CCHF molecular epidemiology in Bulgaria based on all currently available S, M, and L RNA segment nucleotide sequences spanning the years 1978–2014. A relatively low genetic difference (0–6%, the maximum seen in the M RNA segment) was seen among the CCHFV sequences suggesting that a slow evolving CCHFV strain belonging to “Europe 1” clade is present in Bulgaria. Although the virus emerged in new foci during the recent years, it is more active in the established endemic foci which seem to offer the most suitable ecosystem and environment. Understanding the CCHF epidemiology and virus evolution is the basis for public health programs and vaccine design. J. Med. Virol. 88:769–773, 2016 . © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.