Cross-sectional survey of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in the sultanate of Oman

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne hemorrhagic disease caused primarily by a zoonotic virus. The disease may cause a fatal hemorrhagic illness in human; however, CCHF is asymptomatic in infected animals. After the recent reports of CCHF in Oman, a cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2013 to 2014 to study the prevalence in livestock and ticks in order to assess the potential risk of emergence. 1289 serum samples were collected from different domestic animals, and tested by two types of modified ELISA (Indirect and competitive ELISA) for detection of CCHF specific immunoglobulin G (IgG). A prevalence of 7.1% positive serum samples was recorded. Highest individual prevalence was recorded in cattle (17.5%) followed by camels (15.7 %), goat (4.8%) and sheep (4.3%). Moreover, 174 ticks were also collected from 179 location. In total, 9 tick samples were found positive for CCHF virus by Antigen-capture ELISA test and RT-PCR which represents 5.1%. Moreover, the concomitant findings of positive sera for animals and detection of CCHF virus was reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This study aims to estimate the disease distribution in livestock in Oman, identify areas under high risk, and contemplate a comprehensive control strategy.

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Migrant Worker Returning from Oman to India, 2016

“…However, CCHFV strains reported from different districts of Gujarat during 2011–2015 were a combination of S–Asia-2 and Far East M2 viruses that had different parental origins in the S (from Tajikistan strain TADJ/HU8966) and L and M (from Afghanistan strain Afg09-2990) segments, suggesting that an intragenotypic reassortant sequence entered into India. CCHF cases have been reported from Oman since 1995 ( 14 , 15 ). However, because sequences have not been reported for recent strains, we could not conduct a more robust phylogenetic analysis.…”

Clinical and molecular epidemiology of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Oman

“…There was partial support for the possibility of intermittent importation of CCHFV with livestock into the UAE in the 1990s, where ticks were found on animals with different clades of CCHFV S segment corresponding to African as well as Asia 1 clades [9,19,28]. However, human serosurveys in Oman in 1996 [22] and the finding of the virus in ticks and animals throughout Oman in 2013–2014 [25] suggest that all areas of the Sultanate have had a substantial burden of CCHFV infection for at least 2 decades, probably related to all the risks mentioned above. Moreover, all virus isolates from humans in Oman and the UAE have had remarkably similar S Segments, apart from the nosocomial outbreak in Dubai in 1979 from an Indian index case [21].…”

“…This suggests that the Asia 1 S segment of CCHFV has been circulating in Oman for more than 20 years. It will be of interest to fully sequence the complete genomes of the recent isolates from ticks in Oman (and elsewhere) to explore this hypothesis further [25]. Reports of CCHFV antibody positivity in earlier human serosurveys in Kuwait [52] and intermittent occupational-related outbreaks in the UAE [19, 20, 28], and KSA [17,18], since then suggest that this is also the case throughout GCC countries.…”

“…However, no further human cases of CCHF were reported in Oman until 2011 [23], and since then there has been a steady increase [24]. A recent survey has shown infection in a variety of animals and ticks in Oman [25].…”

Zoonotic implications of camel diseases in Iran

“…Positive serological tests have been reported in Oman (Body et al, 2016), Iran and Niger (Mariner, Morrill, & Ksiazek, 1995) among tested camels.…”