Human-Pathogenic Kasokero Virus in Field-Collected Ticks

Kasokero virus (KASV; genus Orthonairovirus) was first isolated in 1977 at Uganda Virus Research Institute from serum collected from Rousettus aegyptiacus bats captured at Kasokero Cave, Uganda. During virus characterization studies at the institute, 4 laboratory-associated infections resulted in mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging infectious diseases 2020-12, Vol.26 (12), p.2944-2950
Main Authors: Schuh, Amy J, Amman, Brian R, Patel, Ketan, Sealy, Tara K, Swanepoel, Robert, Towner, Jonathan S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Argasidae
Bunyaviruses
Chiroptera
Genomes
Human-Pathogenic Kasokero Virus in Field-Collected Ticks
Identification and classification
Illnesses
Infections
Laboratories
Medical research
nairoviruses
Ornithodoros
Risk factors
RNA polymerase
RNA virus infections
Tick-borne diseases
ticks
Viruses
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Summary:Kasokero virus (KASV; genus Orthonairovirus) was first isolated in 1977 at Uganda Virus Research Institute from serum collected from Rousettus aegyptiacus bats captured at Kasokero Cave, Uganda. During virus characterization studies at the institute, 4 laboratory-associated infections resulted in mild to severe disease. Although orthonairoviruses are typically associated with vertebrate and tick hosts, a tick vector of KASV never has been reported. We tested 786 Ornithodoros (Reticulinasus) faini tick pools (3,930 ticks) for KASV. The ticks were collected from a large R. aegyptiacus bat roosting site in western Uganda. We detected KASV RNA in 43 tick pools and recovered 2 infectious isolates, 1 of which was derived from host blood-depleted ticks. Our findings suggest that KASV is maintained in an enzootic transmission cycle involving O. (R.) faini ticks and R. aegyptiacus bats and has the potential for incidental virus spillover to humans.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid2612.202411