Abstract

The first report about Ebinur Lake orthotobunyavirus (EBIV) detected in mosquito pools in the northern provinces of China was published in 2014. The south of the European part of the Russian Federation is a known area of some arboviral infection foci such as West Nile Fever due to favorable climatic and geographic conditions and being a part of the bird’s migratory pathways. But very little is known about the spread of other bird-associated viruses. We describe here the first case of EBIV detection in the Volgograd region, Russia. The genomic RNA of EBIV was detected in bird brain tissues, mosquitoes (including overwintering ones) and ticks pools using metagenomic sequencing technique. Belonging of the detected RNA to EBIV (Orthobunyavirus, Peribunyaviridae) was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. The simultaneous existence of EBIV and other arboviruses such as West Nile virus (WNV) and Sindbis virus (SINV) in environmental samples was revealed. The obtained results indicate the need for further studies of the EBIV circulation in the Volgograd region and possible epidemiological risks.