Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS) - Transmission
- Human infections usually occur as the result of being bitten by a tick carrying SFTSV
- several types of tick can be infected with SFTSV, but the Asian long-horned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, is most frequently identified with carriage of SFTSVand transmission of infection to humans
- Haemaphysalis longicornis is found in several Asian countries
- also found Australia, New Zealand, islands in the Western Pacific region, and the USA. However, to date, there are no reports of SFTSV having been detected in ticks in these countries
- sheep, goats and other mammals may serve as intermediate hosts
- many different animals may be infected naturally, including rodents, small mammals and yaks
- humans are accidental hosts when bitten by ticks (1)
- human-to-human transmission SFTSV
- precise modes of human-to-human transmission SFTSV transmission are unclear
- appears to require close contact with an infected individual, their blood or other bodily fluids, or their immediate environment
- nosocomial transmission
- reported to have occurred in emergency departments and intensive care units in China and South Korea
- transmission via percutaneous exposure (for example, needle-stick injury) has also been reported.
The possibility of transmission via aerosol-generating procedures, without the use of sufficient respiratory protective equipment, was proposed in an epidemiological study of one small cluster.
Reference:
- Public Health England (April 2021). Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTSV): epidemiology, outbreaks and guidance