Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Apr;28(4):786-792. doi: 10.3201/eid2804.211540.
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. americanum ticks in Georgia confirm virus presence in the state. Clinicians and public health professionals should be aware of this emerging tickborne pathogen.
美国佐治亚州报告了一起人类死亡病例和白尾鹿感染中心病毒（HRTV）事件，促使我们在 2018 年至 2019 年期间在 26 个地点采集了正在觅食的硬蜱，这些地点靠近血清阳性鹿被捕获的地方和人类病例患者的居住地。我们通过在 Vero E6 细胞中的病毒分离和逆转录 PCR 对 9294 只美洲钝眼蜱进行了分组处理。阳性分组进行了全基因组测序。有 3 个分组的 HRTV 检测呈阳性（最低感染率为 0.46/1000 只），没有检测到波旁病毒。细胞培养证实了 2 个分组存在 HRTV。对 3 株 HRTV 分离株的基因组测序表明，样本之间具有高度相似性，但与之前测序的 HRTV 分离株存在明显差异。从佐治亚州的美洲钝眼蜱中分离和基因组特征分析证实了 HRTV 在该州的存在。临床医生和公共卫生专业人员应该意识到这种新出现的蜱传病原体。
