Isolation of Bhanja virus in Romania
Ungureanu, A.; Popovici, V.; Cătănaş, F.; Ioniţă, I.; Tutoveanu, A.; Safta, M.
Archives Roumaines de Pathologie Exprimentale et de Microbiologie 49(2): 139-145
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-0037 PMID: 2129278 Document Number: 351631
The isolation of Bhanja virus in ticks from Romania is reported. Ticks (Dermacentor spp. and Ixodes ricinus) were collected on 4 occasions from sheep in Alba and Caras-Severin counties in May 1988. Suspensions of the ticks were prepared and inoculated intracerebrally into suckling mice. Isolates were also cultured in Vero cell and chick embryo fibroblast cultures. The isolates were identified by haemagglutination inhibition and counter-immunoelectrophoresis; 4 isolates were obtained, which proved to antigenically identical to Bhanja virus. In all cases, suckling mice presented nervous symptoms and died 8-12 days after inoculation at the first passage. The incubation period was reduced for following passages, declining to a mean of 3.7 days during the 4th passage. Some sera from humans and domestic animals (e.g. sheep) which were collected from the same areas as the ticks were found to be positive to strains C9/88 and C19/88 of Bhanja virus.