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Abstract
OBJECTIVES This review article summarizes what has been published on Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), a novel flavivirus that was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1995. METHODS PubMed was used to search for studies published from January 1995 to June 2019 using the key words Alkhumra virus, Alkhurma virus, novel flavivirus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Additionally, records of the Saudi Ministry of Health were reviewed. RESULTS Thirty-two articles on AHFV were identified. Acute febrile flu-like illness, hepatitis, hemorrhagic manifestations, and, less commonly, encephalitis are the main clinical features. The virus seems to be transmitted from livestock animals to humans by direct contact with these animals or their raw meat, or perhaps by tick or mosquito bites. The ability of ticks and mosquitoes to serve as vectors for AHFV needs to be confirmed by biological studies. The exact role of animals such as sheep, goats, camels, and other mammals in the transmission and maintenance of the virus remains to be elucidated. Preventive measures require an interdisciplinary approach involving the human and veterinary health sectors, the municipality, the ministry of agriculture, the vector control sector, and academic and research institutes. CONCLUSIONS AHFV has been well characterized; nevertheless, some aspects remain to be elucidated.
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Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus. Microbes Infect 2017; 19:305-310. [PMID: 28456648 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Revised: 04/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) was first isolated in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the 1990s from the blood of a butcher. Subsequently, the virus was recognized in many patients in Saudi Arabia and rarely from Egypt and Djibouti. In this review, we summarize the current literature on AHFV globally with special focus on Saudi Arabia.
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Madani TA, Abuelzein ETME, Jalalah SM, Abu-Araki H, Azhar EI, Hassan AM, Al-Bar HMS. Electron Microscopy of Alkhumra Hemorrhagic Fever Virus. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017; 17:195-199. [PMID: 28051359 DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2016.2064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) is a newly described zoonotic flavivirus that was first isolated during 1994-1995 from the Alkhumra district south of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, the virus was also isolated from Makkah city (2001-2003) and Najran (2008-2009), Saudi Arabia. The virus causes acute febrile illness with hepatitis, hemorrhagic manifestations, and encephalitis. A case fatality rate of 25% was reported among hospitalized patients. Although several biological and molecular characteristics of the virus have been published, no data are available on electron microscopic features of the virus. In this article, we describe the morphological features and metrics of the AHFV particles under electron microscopy, and localization of the virus particles in brain cells of newborn Wistar rats and in Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) kidney epithelial cells (LLC-MK2). Virus particles in both the LLC-MK2 cells and the rat brain cells showed dark hexagonal core (capsid) and a translucent envelope. The mean diameter of the enveloped virus particle was 40.59 ± 1.29 nm in the rat brain cells (n = 154) and 40.97 ± 1.40 nm in the LLC-MK2 cells (n = 105; p > 0.05). The virus particles, both in vitro and in vivo, were enclosed into cytoplasmic vesicles. In conclusion, the shape, size, and diameter of the AHFV particle lie within the framework of the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariq A Madani
- 1 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - El-Tayb M E Abuelzein
- 2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,3 Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sawsan M Jalalah
- 4 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Huda Abu-Araki
- 2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,5 Laboratory Animals Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Esam I Azhar
- 2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,3 Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,6 Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M Hassan
- 2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,3 Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussein M S Al-Bar
- 2 The Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .,7 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Madani TA, Azhar EI, Abuelzein ETME, Kao M, Al-Bar HMS, Farraj SA, Masri BE, Al-Kaiedi NA, Shakil S, Sohrab SS, SantaLucia J, Ksiazek TG. Complete genome sequencing and genetic characterization of Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus isolated from Najran, Saudi Arabia. Intervirology 2014; 57:300-10. [PMID: 25096447 DOI: 10.1159/000362334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2013] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) is a newly described flavivirus first isolated in 1994-1995 from the Alkhumra district south of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, the virus was also isolated from Makkah (2001-2003) and Najran (2008-2009), Saudi Arabia. METHODS The full-length genome of an AHFV strain isolated from patients in Najran (referred to as AHFV/997/NJ/09/SA) was PCR amplified and sequenced, and compared with the sequences of 18 other AHFV strains previously isolated from Jeddah and Makkah, dengue virus (DENV), Kyasanur forest disease virus (KFDV), Langat virus, Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus (OHFV), and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). RESULTS The RNA of the AHFV/997/NJ/09/SA strain was found to have 10,546 nucleotides encoding for a single 3,416-amino acid polyprotein, whereas the previously reported AHFV strains were composed of 10,685-10,749 nucleotides. The AHFV/997/NJ/09/SA strain showed about 99% homology with the previously reported AHFV strains. The KFDV, Langat virus, TBEV, and OHFV isolates formed a separate cluster with a variable homology. The most important variations were observed in the core protein and NS4a gene sequences of two AHFV isolates. CONCLUSION The variation in the number of nucleotides and phylogenetic analysis with the other AHFV isolates could have resulted from recombination of circulating virus strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariq A Madani
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Madani TA, Kao M, Abuelzein ETM, Azhar EI, Al-Bar HM, Abu-Araki H, Bokhary RY, Ksiazek TG. Propagation and titration of Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus in the brains of newborn Wistar rats. J Virol Methods 2014; 199:39-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2013.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2013] [Revised: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Madani TA, Abuelzein ETM, Azhar EI, Al-Bar HM, Abu-Araki H, Ksiazek TG. Comparison of RT-PCR assay and virus isolation in cell culture for the detection of alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus. J Med Virol 2013; 86:1176-80. [DOI: 10.1002/jmv.23755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tariq A. Madani
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medicine; King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
| | - El-Tayb M.E. Abuelzein
- Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever and Special Infectious Agents Unit; King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
- Special Infectious Agents Unit; King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
| | - Esam I. Azhar
- Special Infectious Agents Unit; King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
- Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology; King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussein M.S. Al-Bar
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine; King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
| | - Huda Abu-Araki
- Laboratory Animals Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center; King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah Saudi Arabia
| | - Thomas G. Ksiazek
- Galveston National Laboratory, Departments of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology; University of Texas Medical Branch; Galveston Texas
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Madani TA, Abuelzein ETME, Bell-Sakyi L, Azhar EI, Al-Bar HMS, Abu-Araki H, Hassan AM, Masri BE, Ksiazek TG. Susceptibility of tick cell lines to infection with Alkhumra haemorrhagic fever virus. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2013; 107:806-11. [PMID: 24097806 DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/trt087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although Alkhumra haemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) has been isolated from ticks, epidemiological data suggest that it is transmitted from livestock to humans by direct contact with animals or by mosquito bites, but not by ticks. This study was carried out to assess the ability of the virus to replicate in tick cells in vitro. METHODS AHFV was inoculated into cell lines derived from the hard ticks Hyalomma anatolicum (HAE/CTVM9) and Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (RAE/CTVM1) and the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata (OME/CTVM24). Inoculated cells were directly examined every week for 4 weeks by real-time reverse transcription PCR and by IFAT using polyclonal antibodies. RESULTS AHFV RNA was detected in all three inoculated tick cell lines throughout the 4-week observation period at levels up to almost twice that of the inoculum, but none of them exhibited a cytopathic effect. AHFV antigen could be detected in all three cell lines by IFAT. Titration of tick cell culture suspension in LLC-MK2 cells yielded AHFV titres of 10(6.6) 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50)/ml for OME/CTVM24 and 10(5.5) TCID50/ml for RAE/CTVM1 cells after 4 weeks of culturing; no viable virus was detected in HAE/CTVM9 cells. CONCLUSION This is the first description of propagation of AHFV in tick cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariq A Madani
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80215, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
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