Assessment of SFTSV Prevalence in Cats and Dogs in Miyazaki and Potential Risk to Veterinary Practitioners

摘要

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging and fatal tick-borne disease first reported in 2013 in Japan. It is caused by the infection of SFTS virus (SFTSV) and there is an urgent need for comprehensive risk reduction measures as no specific treatment has been established and the case fatality rate is as high as 20% in Japan. Since the virus is transmitted by ticks, patients' history of outdoor activity and/or tick-bites has been considered as important diagnostic information.However, SFTS cases with the history of contact with SFTSV-infected animals were reported and the disease started catching attention as an animal-derived disease. In August 2018, authors experienced SFTS cases of a veterinarian and a veterinary nurse whodeveloped the disease after treating a cat diagnosed as SFTS. Based on this case, this study aimed to assess the potential risk of SFTSV infection in the occupation group having close contact with sick animals by clarifying the sero-prevalence of SFTSVin veterinary practitioners and stray animals in Miyazaki prefecture, one of the SFTS endemic areas in Japan.