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. 2021 Jul 18;13(7):1396.
doi: 10.3390/v13071396.

Viral RNA Metagenomics of Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Dromedary Camels in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia

Fathiah Zakham  1   2   3 , Aishah E Albalawi  4 , Abdullah D Alanazi  5 , Phuoc Truong Nguyen  1 , Abdulaziz S Alouffi  6 , Altaf Alaoui  7 , Tarja Sironen  1   2 , Teemu Smura  1   8 , Olli Vapalahti  1   2   8
Affiliations

Viral RNA Metagenomics of Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Dromedary Camels in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia

Fathiah Zakham et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Arthropod-borne infections are a medical and economic threat to humans and livestock. Over the last three decades, several unprecedented viral outbreaks have been recorded in the Western part of the Arabian Peninsula. However, little is known about the circulation and diversity of arthropod-borne viruses in this region. To prepare for new outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, it is important to detect which viruses circulate in each vector population. In this study, we used a metagenomics approach to characterize the RNA virome of ticks infesting dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) in Makkah province, Saudi Arabia. Two hundred ticks of species Hyalomma dromedarii (n = 196) and Hyalomma impeltatum (n = 4) were collected from the Alkhurma district in Jeddah and Al-Taif city. Virome analysis showed the presence of several tick-specific viruses and tick-borne viruses associated with severe illness in humans. Some were identified for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula. The human disease-associated viruses detected included Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus and Tamdy virus (family Nairoviridae), Guertu virus (family Phenuiviridae), and a novel coltivirus that shares similarities with Tarumizu virus, Tai forest reovirus and Kundal virus (family Reoviridae). Furthermore, Alkhurma hemorrhagic virus (Flaviviridae) was detected in two tick pools by specific qPCR. In addition, tick-specific viruses in families Phenuiviridae (phleboviruses), Iflaviridae, Chuviridae, Totiviridae and Flaviviridae (Pestivirus) were detected. The presence of human pathogenetic viruses warrants further efforts in tick surveillance, xenosurveillence, vector control, and sero-epidemiological investigations in human and animal populations to predict, contain and mitigate future outbreaks in the region.

Keywords: Hyalomma dromedarii; Saudi Arabia; arboviruses; dromedary camels; province of Makkah; tick-borne diseases; virome analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A map of the western part of Saudi Arabia showing the main identified potential pathogens in the province of Makkah.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pairwise protein identity matrix of nairoviruses including new strains identified in Saudi Arabia.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic trees based on L, M and S segments of nairoviruses. The viruses detected in Saudi Arabia are marked with red color.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pairwise protein identity matrix of Phenuiviridae S segment including new Guertu strain identified in Saudi Arabia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The phylogenetic trees based on L, M and S segments of the Bandaviruses (family Phenuiviridae). The viruses detected in Saudi Arabia are marked with red color.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Phylogenetic trees based on VP1 to VP6, VP8 and VP9 genes of genus Coltivirus The viruses detected in Saudi Arabia are marked with red color.
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