Isolation, Characterization, and Phylogenetic Analysis of Two New Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Strains from the Northern Region of Xinjiang Province, China

Yanfang Zhang, Shu Shen, Yaohui Fang, Jinliang Liu, Zhengyuan Su, Jinhao Liang, Zhong Zhang, Qiaoli Wu, Cheng Wang, Abulikemu Abudurexiti, Zhihong Hu, Yujiang Zhang, Fei Deng

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) caused by the CCHF virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne natural focal disease with a mortality rate of approximately 50%. CCHFV is widely prevalent in Africa, southern Asia, the Middle East, and southeast Europe. CCHF outbreaks have been reported previously in Xinjiang province, China, especially in its southern region. Epidemiological surveys conducted on ticks and animals have revealed the presence of CCHFV strains in ticks, rodents, and infected individuals from cities and counties in southern Xinjiang. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the Chinese CCHFV strains belong to one genotype, based on complete sequences of the S segments of its negative-stranded RNA genome. The present study reports two new CCHFV strains isolated from Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum ticks collected from Fukang City and Wujiaqu City in the northern region of Xinjiang. Viral characteristics and their evolutionary relationships were analyzed through metagenomic and reverse-transcription PCR analyses; these analyses indicated that the genotype of both strains was different from that of other Chinese strains. Furthermore, previous reports of CCHFV in Xinjiang were reviewed and phylogenetic analyses were performed. CCHFV was found to prevail in Fukang City in Junggar Basin for more than 20 years, and that Fukang City and Wujiaqu City are considered natural reservoirs of different genotypes of CCHFV strains. Our findings facilitate the understanding of CCHFV distribution in Xinjiang province and provide insights into the evolutionary relationships among Chinese CCHFV strains.