Investigation of nairo, phlebo and flavivurs in ticks collected around İstanbul province

In this study, we aimed to screen tick-borne viruses, to determine the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases and to identify tick species in samples collected from around Istanbul province. Among arboviruses under the order Bunyavirales, Nairoviridae, Peribunyaviridae families and Flaviviridae family there are Nairovirus, Phlebovirus and Flavivirus genus which include tick-borne viruses with significant global health impact, such as Crimean- Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Arthropod surveillance provides information on regional vector-borne or non-pathogenic virus circulation, for the understanding virus epidemiology and risk assessment. In this study, we carried out nairovirus, phlebovirus and flavivirus screening in ticks via generic PCR, around Istanbul province which has a significant part of the urban population of Turkey. The detected strains were characterized via sequencing. A total of 7154 ticks were collected by flagging and animal sampling from 37 localities in Istanbul, Kırklareli, Edirne and Tekirdağ provinces, during 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018 years. Morphological identification revealed Ixodes sp. (30.92%) to be the most abundant species, followed by Hyalomma marginatum (14.29%), Hyalomma scupense (13.45%), Haemaphysalis parva (9.40%), Rhipicephalus turanicus (8.17%) and others. The individuals were pooled in a total of 572 specimens, according to species, sex and collection sites. Nairovirus screening provided positive results in 0.7% (4/572) and phlebovirus screening provided positive results in 3.3% (19/572) of the pools. However, flavivirus RNA could not be detected in any tick pools. CCHFV and CCHFV-AP92 isolates were detected in the region. In addition, we obtained data on new tick-borne phleboviruses previously reported from Turkey. This is the first report from the region of tick-borne phleboviruses. Key words: Tick, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, Flavivirus, PCR