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First detection of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in Hyalomma marginatum ticks, southern France
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Edité par CCSD -
International audience. Ticks, which are vectors of several zoonotic pathogens, represent an important and increasing threat for human and veterinary health. Hyalomma marginatum, one of the main tick vectors of the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus, has been present in Corsica for decades. Given the recent establishment of this tick species in continental France, it was crucial to evaluate the epidemiological situation of CCHFV in France. Transmission of the CCHFV to humans occurs predominantly via bites of Hyalomma ticks, especially H. marginatum and H. lusitanicum in Europe, or via exposure to infected blood or tissues from viraemic animals or humans. As ticks are the only known natural reservoirs of CCHFV, we focused on field collection of ticks. We collected ticks from horses, which are considered to be the preferred hosts of H. marginatum and on cattle, which are considered as good amplifiers of CCHFV and thus enhance local virus circulation. We collected ticks in the Pyrénées-Orientales department where antibodies against CCHFV were identified in 2021-2022 from cattle. Cattle farms with the highest within-herd seroprevalences were selected, as well as a few seronegative farms in the same areas. In addition, farms with horses, located in the neighbourhood of the seropositive cattle farms were also visited. The ticks H. marginatum, analyzed molecularly, revealed the presence of CCHFV in this department, in proportions ranging from 3.1% to 55.8% of infected ticks across positive sites. All CCHFV isolates sequenced in this study were highly identical and belonged to the same genotype (genotype III). This finding confirms for the first time the transmission of CCHFV in France and highlights the need for close monitoring of H. marginatum in areas where the tick is already established, and further investigations into its probability of geographic expansion.
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