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Published Date: 2013-05-21 21:24:18
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Severe fever w/thrombocytopenia synd. - South Korea: suspected
Archive Number: 20130521.1729124

SEVERE FEVER W/THROMBOCYTOPENIA SYNDROME - SOUTH KOREA: SUSPECTED
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[1]
Date Tue 21 May 2013
Source: Yonhap news Agency [edited]http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2013/05/21/68/0601000000AEN20130521003600320F.HTML


S. Korea reports 1st human case of [novel] tick-borne virus disease
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South Korea has reported the 1st confirmed case of a person infected with a [novel] tick-borne virus in the country following reports of deaths in China and Japan, the state-run disease control agency said on Tuesday [21 May 2013]. [In the following report this disease is identified as: SFTS, or severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome - Mod.CP].

Out of 5 suspected cases, a 63-year-old woman was found to be infected with the virus transmitted by one species of tick, _Haemaphysalis longicornis_, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The infected patient died in Seoul in August last year and four others were found to not be infected with the virus, according to the agency. Symptoms of the virus [infection] include high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, multiple organ failure and other blood-related problems. The agency said that it is checking whether the recent death of an elderly man reported on the southernmost island of Jeju can be alsobconfirmed as a case of the virus carried by the tick, which inhabits the entire country.

On May 16, a 73-year-old Jeju farmer suspected of being bitten by a tick died after days of suffering from high fever and diarrhea.

China and Japan have also recently reported similar cases of the virus, which is known to have a fatality rate as high as 30 percent. In Japan, 8 patients were found to be infected with the virus, with 5 of them having died.

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[Photo of engorged _H. longicornis_:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haemaphysalis_longicornis_1.jpg

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[2]
Date: Fri 17 May 2013
Source: Arirang News Agency [edited]
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=147200


Korea reports 1st suspected death from tick-borne disease
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The cause of death of a 73-year-old Korean patient has put the country's health authorities on alert. The man is suspected of having died from a tick-borne disease on Thursday morning [16 May 2013] at a hospital on Jeju Island. Medical examiners said that the farmer died from blood poisioning, a common disease, but also said Kang had traces of tick bites on his body. They also said that the farmer had symptoms resembling SFTS, or Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, [caused by] a tick-borne virus, about a week before his death. The disease is transmitted by a tick carrying the virus and patients suffer a high fever, vomiting, diarrhea and even death. 10 days before his death, K. suffered from a high fever that t reached 39-degrees,.. coupled with diarrhea and vomiting.

2 days later, he was transferred to Jeju National University Hospital after his symptoms worsened. Doctors at the hospital collected blood samples from K. before his death and asked the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for SFTS. If the samples test positive for the disease, it would be the 1st reported death from the disease in Korea.

The virus has been found in a tick species in Korea called _Haemaphysalis longicornis_. The Japanese media report that 8 people have contracted SFTS this year [in Japan], 5 of whom have died. There is no known cure for the disease but there have been no confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission [but see Comment below].

(By Kim Ji-yeon)

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[Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a serious infectious disease with a [more then] 12 percent case-fatality rate that has been documented in 6 rural provinces in northeast and central China. SFTS is caused by a novel bunyavirus, severe fever with thromobocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). The major clinical signs and symptoms of SFTS are fever, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and elevated serum hepatic enzyme levels.

SFTSV is classified in the family _Bunyaviridae_, genus _Phlebovirus_, and is believed to be transmitted by ticks because the virus has been detected in _Haemaphysalis longicornis_ ticks. However, the disease can also be transmitted from person to person through contact with infected patients' blood or mucous. SFTSV seroprevalence in the human population is unknown, and the natural reservoir hosts of SFTSV have not been determined. The Chinese authors report results from a SFTSV serosurvey conducted on healthy persons and goats in Yiyuan County in Shandong Province, China, an area to which SFTS is endemic. The authors concluded that subclinical SFTSV infections or a relatively mild form of SFTS illness may occur in humans; however, more research is required.

More recently SFTS has been found also in several provinces of Japan. The preceding reports indicate that SFTS virus has now been detected in the Korean peninsula and responsible for cases of human disease. It is likely that it will be found that the virus is widespread in the Korean peninsula and responsible for cases of human disease, and at least under some circumstances transmissible form person-to-person. - Mod.CP.]

[Map of provinces affected in China:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o6DtbaYaRtU/UQqEdqcjp7I/AAAAAAAANkA/nF2ut0uWbsk/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800 - Mod.JW]

See Also

Severe fever w/thrombocytopenia synd. - Japan (05): update 20130410.1636456
Severe fever w/ thrombocytopenia synd. - Japan (04) 20130314.1586891
Severe fever w/ thrombocytopenia synd. - Japan (03): 2005 fatality 20130227.1562954
Severe fever w/ thrombocytopenia synd. - Japan (02): (HA) 20130220.1551946
Severe fever w/ thrombocytopenia synd. - Japan: (EE) fatalities 20130214.1542725
2012
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Bunyavirus disease, human - China (HE), susp. 20120805.1229337
2011
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Novel bunyavirus disease, human - China (02) 20110619.1880
Novel bunyavirus disease, human - China 20110317.0853
2010
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Fatal illness, novel phlebovirus-associated - China 20101005.3613
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