Hongxia Ni1, Fan Yang2, Yongdong Li1, Wenbin Liu2, Suli Jiao1, Zixiong Li2, Bo Yi1, Yi Chen1, Xiaomei Hou2, Fengjiao Hu1, Yibo Ding2, Guolin Bian1, Yan Du2, Guozhang Xu3, Guangwen Cao4. 1. Department of Viral Research, Ningbo Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo 315010, China. 2. Department of Epidemiology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. 3. Department of Viral Research, Ningbo Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo 315010, China. Electronic address: xugz@nbcdc.org.cn. 4. Department of Epidemiology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. Electronic address: gcao@smmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne, novel bunyavirus-caused emerging infectious disease. It becomes a threat to public health due to its high fatality rate. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the epidemiological characteristics of SFTS and natural host(s) of SFTS-causing virus (SFTSV) in East China. STUDY DESIGN: Serum antibody against SFTSV in 496 healthy villagers was examined by ELISA. SFTSV in acute sera of SFTS cases and lung tissues of house and field mouse/rats were identified using quantitative RT-PCR, cell culture, and sequencing. RESULTS: A total of 22 laboratory-confirmed SFTS cases were diagnosed between 2012 and 2014, of which 5 (22.7%) reported a history of tick-bites. The seroprevalance of SFTSV antibody was 10.5% in healthy villagers. SFTSV genomic RNAs were identified in 2 of 8 Apodemus agrarius but not in Rattus norvegicus (n=40) and Rattus losea (n=4). The 3 segments of SFTSV from 11 SFTS cases and 2 A. agrarius were successfully sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that at least 3 different SFTSV strains (inland-type, Ningbo-native-type, and their reassortant-type) were present in Ningbo. The 3 segments of the 2 SFTSV isolates from A. agrarius shared great sequence homologies to those isolated from the patients living in nearby villages. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that A. agrarius might be a natural host of SFTSV in East China.
BACKGROUND: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne, novel bunyavirus-caused emerging infectious disease. It becomes a threat to public health due to its high fatality rate. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the epidemiological characteristics of SFTS and natural host(s) of SFTS-causing virus (SFTSV) in East China. STUDY DESIGN: Serum antibody against SFTSV in 496 healthy villagers was examined by ELISA. SFTSV in acute sera of SFTS cases and lung tissues of house and field mouse/rats were identified using quantitative RT-PCR, cell culture, and sequencing. RESULTS: A total of 22 laboratory-confirmed SFTS cases were diagnosed between 2012 and 2014, of which 5 (22.7%) reported a history of tick-bites. The seroprevalance of SFTSV antibody was 10.5% in healthy villagers. SFTSV genomic RNAs were identified in 2 of 8 Apodemus agrarius but not in Rattus norvegicus (n=40) and Rattus losea (n=4). The 3 segments of SFTSV from 11 SFTS cases and 2 A. agrarius were successfully sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that at least 3 different SFTSV strains (inland-type, Ningbo-native-type, and their reassortant-type) were present in Ningbo. The 3 segments of the 2 SFTSV isolates from A. agrarius shared great sequence homologies to those isolated from the patients living in nearby villages. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that A. agrarius might be a natural host of SFTSV in East China.
Authors: Veronica V Rezelj; Timothy J Mottram; Joseph Hughes; Richard M Elliott; Alain Kohl; Benjamin Brennan Journal: J Virol Date: 2019-03-05 Impact factor: 5.103
Authors: Nathen E Bopp; Jaclyn A Kaiser; Ashley E Strother; Alan D T Barrett; David W C Beasley; Virginia Benassi; Gregg N Milligan; Marie-Pierre Preziosi; Lisa M Reece Journal: NPJ Vaccines Date: 2020-12-17 Impact factor: 7.344