Li et al.
Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of tick-borne encephalitis virus in ticks in northeastern China.
J Med Virol. 2021. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27303. Online ahead of print
In China, TBE virus is predominantly circulating in the northwest, northeast and southwest of the country. In the northeastern region, the main natural foci are in the Changbai Mountain in Jilin Province, in the Daxing’an Mountain in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, and in the Xiaoxing’an Mountain in Heilongjiang. The Far-eastern (FE) subtype of TBE virus is mostly found in Ixodes persulcatus, but the virus can also be detected in Dermacentor silvarum and Haemaphysalis concinna in northeastern China.
In 2015 and 2016, a total of 3799 questing ticks were collected by dragging in northeastern China and TBE virus positive samples were obtained in I. persulcatus with an overall prevalence of 2.9%.
The complete genome sequence of three isolated strains showed a high identity with TBE virus FE-subtypes. Detailed analyses showed that all isolated strains clustered in the FE branch but formed distinct clades depending on the different natural foci.