Abstract
Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBEV) is a dangerous arbovirus widely distributed in Northern Eurasia. The area of this pathogen changes over time. At the beginning of the 2000s, the Ixodes tick populations in Karelia increased. At the same time, the area of I. persulcatus, the main vector of the Siberian TBEV subtype, also expanded. Herein, we sequenced 10 viruses isolated from ticks collected in three locations from the Karelia region in 2008–2018. PCR positive samples were passaged in suckling mice or pig embryo kidney cells (PEK). After the second passage in suckling, mice viral RNA was isolated and E-gene fragment was sequenced. Viral sequences were expected to be similar or nearly identical. Instead, there was up to a 4.8% difference in nucleotide sequence, comparable with the most diverse viruses belonging to the Baltic subgroup in Siberian TBEV subtype (Baltic TBEV-Sib). To reveal whether this was systemic or incidental, a comprehensive phylogeographical analysis was conducted. Interestingly, viruses within each geographic region demonstrated comparable diversity to the whole Baltic TBEV-Sib. Moreover, Baltic TBEV-Sib has a distribution area limited by three ecological regions. This means that active virus mixing occurs in the vast geographic area forming one common virus pool. The most plausible explanation is the involvement of flying animals in the TBEV spread.
Highlights
IntroductionTick-Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBEV) causes the greatest burden to the population of Northern Eurasia
Across arboviruses, Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBEV) causes the greatest burden to the population of Northern Eurasia
In order to clarify the locations of tick collection, all of the Baltic TBEV-Sib subgroup was artificially subdivided into five geographical regions: 1) Estonia and Latvia (n = 11); 2) Finland (n = 14); 3) Saint-Petersburg, Karelia, and Arkhangelsk regions (n = 14); 4) Vologda and Yaroslavl regions (n = 25); and 5) Ekaterinburg and Kurgan regions (n = 7) (Figures 1 and 2)
Summary
TBEV causes the greatest burden to the population of Northern Eurasia. 50 out of 434 (11.5%) sera samples collected in this country were positive for anti-TBEV antibodies [3]. In Ekaterinburg (Russia), sera of 57.8% patients, who did not have a history of TBE disease or vaccination against flaviviruses, had antibody titers in a putative protective titer according to the neutralization test [5]. Direct extrapolation of these values to the whole country is most likely incorrect. It allows for a rough estimate of the TBE lifetime exposure incidence (not less than 1000 per 100,000 population in an endemic region)
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