Isolation of Heartland Virus from Lone Star Ticks, Georgia, USA, 2019.

ABSTRACT: Report of a human death and exposure of white-tailed deer to Heartland virus (HRTV) in Georgia, USA, prompted the sampling of questing ticks during 2018-2019 in 26 sites near where seropositive deer were captured and the residence of the human case-patient. We processed 9,294 Amblyomma americanum ticks in pools by virus isolation in Vero E6 cells and reverse transcription PCR. Positive pools underwent whole-genome sequencing. Three pools were positive for HRTV (minimum infection rate 0.46/1,000 ticks) and none for Bourbon virus. Cell cultures confirmed HRTV presence in 2 pools. Genome sequencing, achieved for the 3 HRTV isolates, showed high similarity among samples but marked differences with previously sequenced HRTV isolates. The isolation and genomic characterization of HRTV from A. am

SUBMITTER: Romer Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8962890 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature