Hashimoto Takehiro, Yahiro Takaaki, Yamada Kentaro, Kimitsuki Kazunori, Okuyama Minami W, Honda Akiko, Kato Miki, Narimatsu Hiroshi, Hiramatsu Kazufumi, Nishizono Akira
Infection Control Center, Oita University Hospital, Oita, Japan.
Department of Microbiology, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Oita, Japan.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Feb 28;106(5):1547-51. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-1130.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging life-threatening infectious disease caused by the tickborne SFTS virus (SFTSV), first identified in China in 2009 and then in Japan in 2013. Human SFTS cases were reported to be concentrated in western Japan, but the epidemiological conditions of SFTSV infection in a specific region are still obscure. We performed an epidemiological study of SFTSV in Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, located in western Japan. For our research, we collected sera from wild and domestic animals (deer, wild boars, raccoons, cats, and dogs) and ticks from January 2010 to November 2020 in Oita. The anti-SFTSV antibody positivity rate of deer in 2014 was significantly higher than that in 2011 (65% versus 27%, P < 0.001). The anti-SFTSV antibody positivity rates of deer, wild boars, raccoons, wild dogs, domestic dogs, and domestic cats were 55%, 12%, 27%, 1.8%, 0.53%, and 1.4%, respectively. Moreover, RT-PCR could not detect SFTSV in any tick sample. Of the six areas of Oita Prefecture, only the Eastern area showed no incidence or possibility of SFTSV infection among wild and domestic animals, ticks, and human beings. Further investigation is required to assess whether local seroepidemiology in animals will help assess the risk of SFTSV infections in inhabitants.
严重发热伴血小板减少综合征（SFTS）是一种由蜱传播的SFTS病毒（SFTSV）引起的、新出现的危及生命的传染病，2009年在中国首次发现，2013年在日本发现。据报道，人类SFTS病例集中在日本西部，但特定地区SFTSV感染的流行病学情况仍不清楚。我们对位于日本西部九州岛的大分县的SFTSV进行了一项流行病学研究。在我们的研究中，于2010年1月至2020年11月在大分县采集了野生动物和家畜（鹿、野猪、浣熊、猫和狗）的血清以及蜱虫样本。2014年鹿的抗SFTSV抗体阳性率显著高于2011年（65%对27%，P<0.001）。鹿、野猪、浣熊、野狗、家犬和家猫的抗SFTSV抗体阳性率分别为55%、12%、27%、1.8%、0.53%和1.4%。此外，在任何蜱虫样本中均未通过RT-PCR检测到SFTSV。在大分县的六个区域中，只有东部地区在野生动物、家畜、蜱虫和人类中未出现SFTSV感染病例或感染可能性。需要进一步调查以评估动物的局部血清流行病学是否有助于评估居民感染SFTSV的风险。
