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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus circulating among sheep of Portugal: a nationwide serosurvey assessment

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Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a widespread zoonotic pathogen that can cause mild to severe hemorrhagic disease in humans. CCHFV may be transmitted through direct contact with tissue or blood of viremic animals; however, the primary transmission route is through infected tick bites. CCHFV RNA has been detected in ticks feeding on domestic and wild animals in western Spain, suggesting an established circulation of CCHFV in Western Europe. Ruminants have been recognized as important CCHFV reservoirs and have been linked to human cases in endemic regions. Given the emergence of CCHF in neighboring Spain, and a report of two CCHFV seropositive humans in southern Portugal in 1985, we investigated the potential circulation of this virus in the country by performing a nationwide anti-CCHFV IgG serosurvey in sentinel sheep of Portugal. Sera (n = 459) randomly selected from widely distributed farms (n = 20) of Portugal were tested using a commercial double-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, yielding an overall seroprevalence of 0.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04–1.56%). Positive sheep were from the southern region of Portugal (Alentejo region), which raise the seroprevalence of this region to 0.74% (95% CI 0.09–2.66%). This is the first study reporting the presence of CCHFV antibodies in sheep of Portugal, thus suggesting a geographical expansion of CCHFV to this country. It seems likely that CCHFV may exist focally in southern Portugal.

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Fig. 1

Data availability

Raw data were generated at Virology Lab of Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [PB] on request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    João R. Mesquita & Humberto Pousa

  2. Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit), Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade Do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    João R. Mesquita & Patrícia Ferreira Barradas

  3. Agrarian School of Viseu, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (ESAV), , Viseu, Portugal

    Rita Cruz, Fernando Esteves, Carla Santos, Catarina Coelho, Ana Cristina Mega, Carmen Nóbrega & Helena Vala

  4. Centre for Studies in Education and Health Technologies (CI&DETS), Viseu, Portugal

    Rita Cruz, Fernando Esteves & Carla Santos

  5. Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-Os-Montes E Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal

    Catarina Coelho, Carmen Nóbrega & Helena Vala

  6. Animal and Veterinary Research Center (CECAV), University of Trás-Os-Montes E Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal

    Catarina Coelho

  7. Institut de Recherche Biomédicale Des Armées, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France

    Christophe Nicolas Peyrefitte

  8. Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

    Christophe Nicolas Peyrefitte

  9. Unité Des Virus ÉmergentsUniversité Aix Marseille, IRD190, INSERM1207, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France

    Christophe Nicolas Peyrefitte

  10. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal

    Maria São José Nascimento

  11. Department of Sciences, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, CRL, Gandra, Portugal

    Patrícia Ferreira Barradas

  12. OncoPharma Research Group, Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Porto, Portugal

    Patrícia Ferreira Barradas

Authors
  1. João R. Mesquita
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  12. Patrícia Ferreira Barradas
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Contributions

JRM and PB: Conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; methodology; resources; writing, original draft; writing, review and editing. RC, FE, CS, CC, ACM, CN, HV: Sampling, writing—review and editing. HP: Methodology. CNP and MSJ: Writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrícia Ferreira Barradas.

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The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal’s author guidelines page, have been adhered to. No ethical approval was required as this study was performed with samples obtained from remnants, hence causing no further pain to the animal.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Mesquita, J.R., Cruz, R., Esteves, F. et al. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus circulating among sheep of Portugal: a nationwide serosurvey assessment. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 237 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03238-z

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