Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, Japan, 2013–2017

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 692 - 699
• Main Authors: Kobayashi, Yusuke, Kato, Hirofumi, Yamagishi, Takuya, Shimada, Tomoe, Matsui, Tamano, Yoshikawa, Tomoki, Kurosu, Takeshi, Shimojima, Masayuki, Morikawa, Shigeru, Hasegawa, Hideki, Saijo, Masayuki, Oishi, Kazunori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.04.2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Animals; Beef cattle; Bites (Injuries); Bites and stings; companion animal; Diseases; Epidemiology; Fever; Genomes; Hospitals; Illnesses; Infectious diseases; Laboratories; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Pets; Phenuiviridae; Physicians; Questionnaires; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus; Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, Japan, 2013–2017; SFTS; Surveillance; Surveys; Thrombocytopenia; Time; viruses; South Korea; Japan; China; viruses; Phenuiviridae; Japan; zoonoses; companion animal; Huaiyangshan banyangvirus; epidemiology; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome; vector-borne infections; SFTS; SFTSV; tickborne diseases; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2604.191011

We conducted an epidemiologic study of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in Japan during 2013-2017. Of 303 cases reported during that period, 133 (44%) were included in this study. The median time between onset of illness and diagnosis of SFTS shortened, from 11.5 to 3.0 days, but the case-fatality rate remained high, at 27%. In 64 patients (48%), a close contact with companion animals was reported within 2 weeks of disease onset. Of these 64 patients, 40 were surveyed further, and we confirmed that 3 had direct contact with body fluids of ill companion animals; 2 had direct contact with the saliva of an ill feral cat or pet dog. These patients reported no history of tick bite, suggesting that ill companion animals might be a source of SFTS virus transmission. Direct contact with the body fluids of ill companion animals should be avoided.