- A highly pathogenic, tick-borne novel bunyavirus has reportedly re-emerged in China, hospitalizing more than 60 people and killing seven.
- More than 37 people in East China’s Jiangsu Province contracted with the SFTS Virus in the first half of the year.
- Later, 23 people were found to have been infected in East China’s Anhui province, state-run Global Times quoted media reports.
A new infectious disease caused by a tick-borne virus has killed seven people and infected 60 others in China, reports Taiwan News.
Huaiyangshan banyangvirus
According to CNA, a 65-year-old tea farmer in the Chinese province of Jiangsu recently fell ill with a fever of 40 °C and a constant cough. Doctors found a decline of leukocyte, blood platelet inside of her body. After a month of treatment, she was discharged from the hospital.
She was diagnosed with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), which is caused by the Huaiyangshan banyangvirus.
At least seven people have died in Anhui and East China’s Zhejiang province due to the virus, the report said.
Tick borne transmission
SFTS Virus is not a new virus. China has isolated pathogen of the virus in 2011, and it belongs to the Bunyavirus category.
Virologists believe that the infection may have been passed on to humans by ticks and that the virus can be transmitted between humans, it said.
Sheng Jifang, a doctor from the first affiliated hospital under Zhejiang University, said that the possibility of human-to-human transmission could not be excluded; patients can pass the virus to others via blood or mucous.
Doctors warned that tick bite is the major transmission route, as long as people remain cautious, there’s no need to over panic over such virus contagion, it said.
- Since tick bites are the virus’ primary vector of transmission, the CDC advises the Taiwanese public to avoid wearing shorts in tall grass, wooded areas, and other environments where ticks are likely to be found.
- It also pointed out that there are currently no antiviral drugs for SFTS but that with efficient treatment, the mortality rate can be minimized.
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Source: Taiwan News
