Determination and Seroprevalence Study of Genetic Diversity of SFTS and CCHF Among of Farming Animals, rodents and in Tick Species in Georgia
Project Status: 3 Approved without Funding
Duration in months: 24 months
Objective
The proposed collaborative research project will assess the prevalence among of farming animals and genetic diversity of highly pathogenic Bunyaviruses in Country of Georgia which includes Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS).
The work will build on earlier and ongoing surveillance studies within Georgia by providing more detailed characterization of CCHFV and finding of SFTS types. In addition, active bio-surveillance of rodents and ticks from an area of Georgia where a recent CCHF outbreak occurred and close to GEO-Turkey border area will provide a baseline assessment of the potential for future outbreaks of CCHFV and will show whether the SFTS is circulating and/or is endemic to this region. Viral antigens and RNA identified in existing samples, or those collected from rodents or ticks will be characterized by immunoassays and gene sequencing by Sanger method. Sustainable molecular diagnostic assays will be implemented. Georgian personnel will be trained to perform these assays and to produce necessary reagents in the collaborative Institution in Tokyo, Japan. These studies will fill knowledge gaps concerning the disease potential of bunyaviruses causing hemorrhagic fevers in Georgia and will advance the capabilities of laboratory personnel to enable future collaborative studies that will sustain the laboratory. SFTS is an emerging infectious disease with a high case fatality risk and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV) and it has a great importance for whole Eastern Europe to study whether SFTSV is circulating in Georgia. SFTSV readily infects humans with farming-related exposures as well as numerous domestic and wild animals. A conventional one-step reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) (cvPCR) method and a quantitative one-step RT-PCR (qPCR) method were developed to detect the SFTSV genome by our Japanese collaborators, which will be used as a major and powerful diagnostic tool in scopes of this project.
Participating Institutions
COLLABORATOR
National Institute of Infectious Diseases / Special Pathogens Laboratory
LEADING
National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC)
