Genetic Diversity of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Kyrgyzstan

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a severe disease of the human central nervous system. Currently, the data on the genetic variants of TBEV in Kyrgyzstan is practically absent, so the aim of this study was to analyze and describe the genetic diversity of TBEV in Kyrgyzstan. The complete genome sequences of seven TBEV strains from the collection of the Scientific Сentre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russia isolated from Ixodes persulcatus ticks from Kyrgyzstan were determined by next generation sequencing approach with high-performance sequencer MiSeq (Illumina, USA). A molecular genetic analysis of the obtained sequences and sequences of two TBEV strains isolated previously in Kyrgyzstan from the GenBank database demonstrated that the Siberian subtype of three genetic lineages (Zausaev, Vasilchenko and Bosnia) is predominantly distributed in Kyrgyzstan, and TBEV of the Far Eastern subtype is also present. To date, this is probably southernmost range boundary for these TBEV subtypes.