Open camera or QR reader and scan code to access this article and other resources online. Several Tick-Borne Pathogenic Viruses in Circulation in Anatolia, Turkey Ender Dinc ¸ er, 1 Mehmet O ¨ zkan Timurkan, 2 Bekir Og ˘ uz, 3 _ Ismail S xahindokuyucu, 4 Adem S xahan, 5 Mustafa Ekinci, 6 Ceylan Polat, 7 and Koray Ergu ¨ nay 7 Abstract Introduction: We screened host-collected ticks for tick-borne viruses, including those recently documented as human pathogens. Methods: During 2020–2021, ticks removed form cattle, sheep, dogs, and cats in 11 provinces in 5 geographically distinct regions of Anatolia were identified, pooled, and screened using pan-nairovirus, pan-flavivirus and indi- vidual assays for Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), and Tacheng tick virus 1 and 2 (TcTV-1 and TcTV-2). Results: A total of 901 tick specimens, comprising 6 species were included. Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex was the most abundant species (44.1%), followed by Rhipicephalus bursa (38.3%), Haemaphysalis parva (7.2%), and others. The specimens were screened in 158 pools with 12 pools (7.6%) being positive. Crimean– Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) lineage Europe 2 (genotype VI) sequences were detected in R. bursa in five (3.2%) of the pools, with similar prevalences in central and Mediterranean Anatolian provinces. JMTV was identified in four R. bursa and one Rhipicephalus turanicus pools, collected from Mediterranean and southeastern Anatolia, with a CCHFV and JMTV coinfected R. bursa pool. The JMTV segment 1 sequences formed a separate cluster with those from Turkey and the Balkan peninsula in the maximum likelihood analysis. TcTV-2 was detected in two Dermacentor marginatus specimens (1.3%) collected in central Anatolia, with nucleocapsid sequences forming a phylogenetically segregated group among viruses from humans and ticks from China and Kazakhstan. Discussion: CCHFV Europe 2 was initially documented in ticks from central Anatolian locations, where related orthonairoviruses had been previously recorded. Ongoing activity and a wider distribution of JMTV and TcTV- 2 were observed. These viruses should be screened as potential etiological agents in human infections asso- ciated with tick bites. Keywords: tick-borne, Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Jingmen tick virus, Tacheng tick virus, Anatolia, Turkey Introduction T icks act as biological vectors of several viral pathogens, causing human and livestock diseases with significant public health and economic impact (Mansfield et al. 2017). Tick-borne infections are frequently of zoonotic origin, where the causative agent is maintained in natural cycles involving vector ticks and animal hosts, with humans rarely contributing to the circulation (Kazimirova et al. 2017). The tick feeding behavior, opportunities for vertebrate contact, as 1 Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dokuz Eylu ¨l University, _ Izmir, Turkey. 2 Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatu ¨rk University, Erzurum, Turkey. 3 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey. 4 Bornova Veterinary Control Institute, Veterinary Control Institute Directorates, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Izmir, Turkey. 5 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Harran University, S xanlıurfa, Turkey. 6 Department of Animal Breeding, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. 7 Virology Unit, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. Preliminary findings of the study were presented at the VI National Clinical Microbiology Congress (KLIMUD) during October 20–24, 2021. VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES Volume 22, Number 2, 2022 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2021.0082 148 Downloaded by 3.238.182.43 from www.liebertpub.com at 02/19/22. For personal use only.