State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Centre of Influenza Research, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
EBioMedicine. 2019 May;43:317-324. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.04.004. Epub 2019 Apr 17.
A tick-borne segmented RNA virus called Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) was recently identified, variants of which were detected in a non-human primate host and fatal patients with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. We investigated its infectivity and pathogenicity for humans.
We obtained skin-biopsy, blood and serum samples from patients with tick bites, and used high-throughput sequencing, in situ hybridisation, and serologic testing to diagnose and ascertain the cases of JMTV infection.
A JMTV strain was isolated from the tick Amblyomma javanense into an embryo-derived tick cell line. We obtained sustained passage of JMTV, and revealed that it was able to accumulate in salivary glands of experimentally infected ticks. Four JMTV-infected patients were identified by high-throughput sequencing of skin biopsies and blood samples. The virus replication in skin tissue was visualised by in situ hybridisation. The four patients all had an itchy or painful eschar at the site of tick bite, with or without lymphadenopathy. Immunohistochemical examination revealed remarkable local inflammation manifested as infiltration by neutrophils. Eight patients were identified by serological testing and showed more severe clinical manifestations. Two Ixodes persulcatus ticks detached from patients were positive for JMTV. All JMTV strains identified in this study formed a well-supported sub-lineage, distinct from those previously reported in China. Interpretation The public significance of JMTV should be highly concerning due to its potential pathogenicity for humans and efficient transmission by potential ticks. FUND: China Natural Science Foundation, State Key Research Development Programme, and United Kingdom Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
一种名为京山病毒（JMTV）的蜱传节段性 RNA 病毒最近被发现，其变体在非人类灵长类动物宿主和克里米亚-刚果出血热的致命患者中被检测到。我们研究了其对人类的感染性和致病性。
我们从蜱叮咬患者中获得皮肤活检、血液和血清样本，并使用高通量测序、原位杂交和血清学检测来诊断和确定 JMTV 感染病例。
从恙螨中分离出一株 JMTV 株，并在胚胎来源的恙螨细胞系中进行了传代。我们获得了 JMTV 的持续传代，并表明它能够在实验感染的蜱的唾液腺中积累。通过皮肤活检和血液样本的高通量测序鉴定了 4 例 JMTV 感染患者。通过原位杂交观察到病毒在皮肤组织中的复制。所有 4 例患者在蜱叮咬部位均出现瘙痒或疼痛性焦痂，伴有或不伴有淋巴结病。免疫组织化学检查显示局部炎症明显，表现为中性粒细胞浸润。通过血清学检测鉴定了 8 例患者，这些患者表现出更严重的临床表现。从患者身上分离出的 2 只硬蜱对 JMTV 呈阳性。本研究中鉴定的所有 JMTV 株形成了一个支持良好的亚系，与之前在中国报告的株系不同。
由于 JMTV 对人类具有潜在的致病性，并且可能通过潜在的蜱类传播，因此应高度关注其公共意义。
中国自然科学基金、国家重点研发计划和英国生物技术和生物科学研究理事会。
