title: Seroprevalence report on tick-borne encephalitis virus and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus among Malaysian's farm workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) are important tick-borne viruses. Despite their wide geographical distribution and ease of acquisition, the prevalence of both viruses in Malaysia is still unknown. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence for TBEV and CCHFV among Malaysian farm workers as a high-risk group within the population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We gave questionnaires to 209 farm workers and invited them to participate in the study. Eighty-five agreed to do so. We then collected and tested sera for the presence of anti-TBEV IgG (immunoglobulin G) and anti-CCHFV IgG using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. We also tested seroreactive samples against three other related flaviviruses: dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) using the ELISA method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preliminary results showed the presence of anti-TBEV IgG in 31 (36.5%) of 85 sera. However, when testing all the anti-TBEV IgG positive sera against the other three antigenically related flaviviruses to exclude possible cross reactivity, only five (4.2%) sera did not show any cross reactivity. Interestingly, most (70.97%) seropositives subjects mentioned tick-bite experience. However, there was no seroreactive sample for CCHFV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These viruses migrate to neighbouring countries so they should be considered threats for the future, despite the low seroprevalence for TBEV and no serological evidence for CCHFV in this study. Therefore, further investigation involving a large number of human, animal and tick samples that might reveal the viruses' true prevalence is highly recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. munirahshukri10@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Munirah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohd Shukri
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sfatimah90@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ling Kho
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. masoume.gk@siswa.um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghane Kisomi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rafidahpoh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rafidah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. suria_marlina@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Suria
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marlina
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sfatimah90@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Siti Fatimah
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Muhd Radzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sfatimah90@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tee Tay
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sfatimah90@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ping Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sfatimah90@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Awang Bulgiba
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Awang Mahmud
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Services, Federal Government Administration Centre, Putrajaya, Malaysia. quaza@dvs.gov.my.
authors.forename: Quaza Nizamuddin
authors.initials: QN
authors.lastname: Hassan Nizam
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sazaly@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Sazaly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abu Bakar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. keivan@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Keivan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zandi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000276:immunology; D004664:Encephalitis Virus, Japanese / Q000276:immunology; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D000067565:Farmers; D005260:Female; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D064927:Tick Bites / Q000453:epidemiology; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G