Dai et. al.
A new subtype of eastern tick-borne encephalitis virus discovered in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China.
Emerg. Microb. Infect. 2018; 7: 74, DOI 10.1038/s41426-018-0081-6

Based on phylogenetic analyses of E protein, the TBE virus has been classified into three subtypes, namely the European (TBEV-Eu), Far-Eastern (TBEV-FE) and Siberian (TBEV-Sib). In China, TBEV-FE and TBEV-Sib have been identified. The authors have discovered two new strains of TBE virus (TBEV-Him) in Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. The topology of phylogenetic trees demonstrated that TBE-Him could be considered as a new member of the eastern TBE virus group, together with TBE-FE and TBEV-Sib. TBEV-Him and the eastern TBE virus group have diverged about 2469 years ago. The profile of pathogenic associated amino acid substitution of TBEV-Him is similar to the low virulence strain Oshima 5-10.

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