[Genetic characteristics of the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis in Mongolia]

Vopr Virusol. 2010 May-Jun;55(3):27-32.
[Article in Russian]

Abstract

A patient with diagnosed meningoencephalitis and a history of tick bite died in Mongolia in 2008. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the virus causing the ill person's death. The virus was identified using the phylogenetic analysis of the 520-bp fragment of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) genome, which codes the fragment of TBEV protein E between 52-223 amino acids. TBEV RNA was detected in the samples of medulla oblongata, cerebral cortex, and pia mater of brain, but not in the cerebellar tissue. The study virus fragment was genetically closest to the representatives of the Far East subtype. Its closest relative was virus 740-84 (GenBank EU878282) isolated from large-toothed redback voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in Buryatia and greatly differed from the Far East virus Soffin. Two amino acid substitutions (H86R and VI7A) were detected within the study protein E fragment. The paper is the first to describe the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis on the territory of Mongolia and to discuss the evolution and pathogenicity of TBEV.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Brain / virology
  • Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / classification*
  • Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / genetics
  • Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / isolation & purification
  • Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / virology*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mongolia
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics

Substances

  • Viral Envelope Proteins
  • glycoprotein E, Flavivirus