DETECTION OF CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER VIRUS ANTIBODIES IN LIVESTOCK IN HAS AREA

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is the causative agent of a serious human hemorrhagic fever with mortality rates ranging from 15 to 60%. CCHF virus is a member of the genus Nairovirus within the family Bunyaviridae. Bunyaviruses are enveloped particles with a tripartite, singlestranded RNA genome of negative polarity; the particles contain highly conserved complementary nucleotide stretches at the segment ends. The three genome segments encode four structural proteins: the RNA dependent RNA polymerase (L protein) is encoded by the large (L) segment, the glycoproteins (G1 and G2) are encoded by the medium (M) segment, and the nucleocapsid protein (N) is encoded by the small (S) segment. The Nairovirus genus includes 34 described viruses and is divided into seven different serogroups. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is transmitted to humans by Hyalomma ticks or by direct contact with the blood of infected humans or domestic animals. All members of the genus Nairovirus seem to be transmitted mainly by hard ticks (family Ixodidae); CCHF virus is transmitted most efficiently by members of the genus Hyalomma (e.g., Hyalomma marginatum), followed by Rhipicephalus and Dermacentor spp. This study is based on the prevalence and the presence of CCHFV in Albania's agricultural animals such as sheep, cattle and goats. We collected sera from Has area where we had indication about the presence of CCHFV in humans, respectively 108 serum samples from cattle. These sera were tested with immunological methods using indirect ELISA assay in Friedrich-Loeffler Institute (FLI), Greifswald Germany. Through this technique it was possible to identify IgG antibodies in infected sera. From the results we detectied the presence of IgG antibodies in 4 of 108 serum samples from cattle in Has area. From these preliminary results the presence of CCHFV in livestock in Albania is clearly proved. We also collected ticks from different area’s of Albania such as Kukes, Has, Torovice and Vrepcke. In Kukes we collected 5 ticks from the land using the flag as a method. We made the identification of these ticks in The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Prishtine/Kosove and from the results we had a conclusion that ticks were from spp Rhipicephalus bursa.