Nahla Mohamed
Princess Nourah Bint Abdurrahman University, KSA
Title: Novel screening of haemorrhagic fever viruses in Shrews, Najd Desert, KSA
Biography
Biography: Nahla Mohamed
Abstract
Novel Screening of Haemorrhagic Fever Viruses in Shrews, Najd Desert, KSA
Nahla Mohamed1, 2, Rania Ali El Hadi Mohamed, Fadilah Sfouq Aleanizy and Fulwah Y Alqahtani
1Princess Nourah Bint Abdurrahman University, KSA
2Umeå University; Sweden
Background & Aim: A shrew or shrew mouse (family Soricidae) is a small mole-like mammal classified in the order Eulipotyphla. This study aimed to screen wildlife shrews for certain viral hemorrhagic fever RNA’s wildlife Shrews collected from rural areas in Riyadh, Kingdom Saudi Arabia.
Methods: Shrews were sorted out from the trapped shrew-like rodents using the classical morphological keys. Viral RNA has been extracted from internal organs; lungs, livers, kidneys, and stomach using Qiagen RNeasy Mini Kit. Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Alkhurma virus, Sindbis virus (SINV) and Hanta virus (HANTV) were screened using SYBR Green One step RT-PCR Master Mix (KAPA Biosystems, Boston, MA). Negative and positive controls were tested for each test to confirm the specificity of the selected primer pairs.
Results: The four groups of internal viscera of shrews were positive for the following viruses: SINV, RVFV, CHIKV, CCHFV, and HANTV. This indicated the propagation and dissemination of the viruses inside shrews’ tissues.
Conclusion: The obtained results constitute first record in Kingdom Saudi Arabia and greatly extend our knowledge of wildlife reservoir of arboviruses and other hosts; especially bats are highly recommended for investigation in the upcoming researches.