First detection of Jingmen tick virus in hard ticks collected across multiple regions of Italy

Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) is a novel flavi-like virus first identified in 2010 in Rhipicephalus microplus in the Jingmen region of Hubei Province, China and has been reported in different Asian countries, Central and South America, Africa, and Europe. Beyond ticks, JMTV has been detected in a range of other arthropods and in vertebrate hosts. In humans, JMTV has been found in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Kosovo and Turkey, and in febrile patients with a history of tick bites in China, suggesting it may be a novel human pathogen. To investigate the presence of JMTV in Italy, we developed a One-step real-time RT-PCR assay and applied it to individually screen 1150 ticks collected from northeastern, central, and southern Italy. JMTV RNA was detected in multiple tick species, including Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., Dermacentor marginatus, and Hyalomma marginatum with a prevalence ranging from 0.52% to 18.42% in questing ticks. The detection of JMTV in ticks from all surveyed areas, indicates that the virus is geographically widespread in Italy. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive surveillance strategies to identify new areas of active virus circulation and to investigate the potential impact of JMTV on public health.