Striking tick-borne virus diversity and potential reservoirs documented during One-Health-based cross-sectional screening in Anatolia

Ender Dinçer ¹, Mehmet Özkan Timurkan ², Bekir Oğuz ³

¹Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye.
²Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University, Yakutiye, Erzurum, Türkiye.
³Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Van, Türkiye.
⁴Department of Veterinary Experimental Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Türkiye.
⁵Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye.
⁶Tuzluca Vocational School, Iğdır Üniversitesi, Iğdır, Türkiye.
⁷Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye.
⁸Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye.
⁹Department of Medical Services, Vocational School of Health Services, Toros University, Mersin, Türkiye.
¹⁰Veterinary Control Institute Directorates, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Bornova Veterinary Control Institute, İzmir, Türkiye.
¹¹Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Burdur Mehmet Akıf Ersoy University, Burdur, Türkiye.
¹²Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Türkiye.
¹³Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution-National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁴Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution-National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Washington, DC, USA. ergunayk@si.edu.
¹⁵Smithsonian Museum Support Center, MRC-534, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD, 20746-2863, USA. ergunayk@si.edu.

⁰Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye.

Parasites & Vectors +

|

October 11, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This study identified diverse tick-borne viruses, including Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Tacheng tick virus 1 (TcTV-1), and Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), in Anatolia. These findings highlight the region

Area Of Science

Virology
Epidemiology
One Health

Background

Expansion of tick-borne viruses from Central Asia to Europe documented.
Anatolia's strategic location on bird migration routes and diverse tick species present a unique environment for viral transmission.
A One Health approach was employed to investigate tick-borne viruses in host-removed ticks and host samples.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the diversity of tick-borne viruses in Anatolia.
To identify potential animal reservoirs for identified viruses.
To inform future surveillance and diagnostic strategies for tick-borne diseases.

Main Methods

Collection of host-attached ticks and plasma samples from various hosts (cattle, sheep, dogs, goats, tortoises) across 20 Anatolian provinces (2023-2024).
Morphological identification of ticks, pooling, and nucleic acid purification.
Screening for viruses using generic (nairovirus) and specific (JMTV, TcTV-1, TcTV-2, TAMV) amplification assays, followed by sequencing.

Main Results

Detection of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in five tick species, with three distinct lineages identified.
Identification of Tacheng tick virus 1 (TcTV-1) in six tick species and a cattle plasma sample, revealing two distinct virus clades.
Discovery of Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) and Tamdy virus (TAMV), with sequences forming new clades, and identification of a novel nairovirus in Haemaphysalis parva ticks.

Conclusions

Undocumented diversity of tick-borne viral pathogens, including CCHFV, TcTV-1, and JMTV, discovered in Anatolia.
Potential animal reservoirs for TcTV-1 were identified.
CCHFV, TcTV-1, JMTV, and TAMV should be considered in clinical diagnostics and future surveillance for tick-borne illnesses.

Keywords:

Anatolia CCHFV Pathogen Tamdy Tick Virus