Cencurut virus: A novel Orthonairovirus from Asian house shrews (Suncus murinus) in Singapore

Orthonairovirus is a genus of viruses in the family Nairoviridae, order Bunyavirales, with a segmented circular RNA genome. They typically infect birds and mammals and are primarily transmitted by ectoparasites such as ticks. Four of nine Orthonairovirus genogroups can infect humans, with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infections displaying case fatality rates up to 40%. Here, we discover and describe a novel Orthonairovirus as Cencurut virus (CENV). CENV was detected in 34 of 37 Asian house shrews (Suncus murinus) sampled in Singapore and in a nymphal Amblyomma helvolum tick collected from an infected shrew. Pairwise comparison of CENV S, M, and L segments had 95.0 to 100% nucleotide and 97.5 to 100% amino acid homology within CENV genomes, suggesting a diverse viral population. Phylogenetic analysis of the individual gene segments showed that CENV is related to Erve, Lamgora, Lamusara, and Thiafora viruses, with only 49.0 to 58.2% nucleotide and 41.7 to 61.1% amino acid homology, which has previously been detected in other shrew species from France, Gabon, and Senegal respectively. The high detection frequency suggests that CENV is endemic among S. murinus populations in Singapore. The discovery of CENV, from a virus family with known zoonotic potential, underlines the importance of surveillance of synanthropic small mammals that are widely distributed across Southeast Asia.