Saijo Masayuki
Department of Virology 1, National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Rinsho Ketsueki. 2018;59(10):2255-2259. doi: 10.11406/rinketsu.59.2255.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) was first reported in 2011 as an emerging virus infection caused by a novel Phlebovirus in the Bunyaviridae family [SFTS virus (SFTSV)]. In addition, it was reported to be endemic to Hubei, Henan, Shandong, and Heilongjiang provinces in China. The primary symptoms of SFTS are gastrointestinal symptoms such as fever, general fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The total blood cell counts in patients with SFTS reveal thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. A woman in her 50s died due to multiorgan failure, intestinal hemorrhage, and hemophagocytosis in the autumn of 2012. She was retrospectively diagnosed with SFTS, suggesting that SFTS was endemic not only to China but also to Japan. Subsequently, SFTS was reported to be endemic to South Korea as well. Approximately 5 years have passed since the discovery of SFTS endemicity in Japan. To date, 40-100 patients with SFTS from the western part of Japan have been reported annually to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. The case-fatality rate of SFTS is approximately 20%. This high case-fatality rate could be attributed to multiorgan failure, coagulopathy, and hemophagocytosis, which are induced in most patients with SFTS. Reportedly, an antiviral drug, favipiravir, was effective in treating SFTSV infection in an animal infection model. SFTSV has been found to circulate between wild animals and several species of ticks in nature, suggesting that we cannot escape the risk of infection with SFTSV and that SFTS will continue to occur in endemic areas. Hence, the development of specific treatment and preventive measures with SFTS vaccines is imperative.
严重发热伴血小板减少综合征（SFTS）于2011年首次被报道，是由布尼亚病毒科中的一种新型白蛉病毒[SFTS病毒（SFTSV）]引起的一种新发病毒感染。此外，据报道该病在中国湖北、河南、山东和黑龙江等省为地方性流行。SFTS的主要症状为胃肠道症状，如发热、全身乏力、恶心、呕吐和腹泻。SFTS患者的全血细胞计数显示血小板减少和白细胞减少。2012年秋季，一名50多岁的女性因多器官衰竭、肠道出血和噬血细胞作用而死亡。她被追诊断为SFTS，这表明SFTS不仅在中国，在日本也为地方性流行。随后，据报道韩国也存在SFTS地方性流行。自日本发现SFTS地方性流行以来，大约已过去5年。迄今为止，日本西部每年向国立感染症研究所报告40 - 100例SFTS患者。SFTS的病死率约为20%。这种高病死率可能归因于大多数SFTS患者出现的多器官衰竭、凝血病和噬血细胞作用。据报道，一种抗病毒药物法匹拉韦在动物感染模型中对治疗SFTSV感染有效。已发现SFTSV在野生动物和自然界中的几种蜱虫之间循环，这表明我们无法避免感染SFTSV的风险，且SFTS将在流行地区继续发生。因此，开发针对SFTS的特异性治疗方法和预防性疫苗势在必行。
