A variable region in the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus L segment distinguishes between strains isolated from different geographic regions.

Alignment of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) L genome segment full-length sequences reveals an overall high level of conservation among strains, with greater than 90% of translated amino acid residues strictly conserved. However, a region of marked variability identified previously, corresponding to L polyprotein amino acid positions 760-810, shares only 40% overall identity between strains. The variable regions sequences of 16 laboratory-adapted CCHFV strains were determined, including 11 strains from European Russia, one strain from Bulgaria, and four strains from the Central Asian countries of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.