Prevalence and Diversity of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus and Co-Infection within Ticks from Central and Eastern Parts of China.

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate tick species that may harbour severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) andin the provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Zhejiang, as well as in Shanghai in the central and eastern parts of China. Between March and September 2023, 721 pools of ticks were collected belonging to three genera and five species:(= 612; 84.9%),(= 94; 13.0%),(= 10; 1.4%),(= 3; 0.4%), and(= 2; 0.3%). The SFTSV-positive pool rate was 20.0%, 13.0%, 5.8%, and 4.1% in Xinyang, Henan; Songjiang, Shanghai; Lu'an, Anhui; and Zhoushan, Zhejiang, respectively. SFTSV was detected in all five tick species collected. Among the SFTSV-positive pools,constituted the highest proportion (83.9%, 78/93), whereas pools containingandeach represented the lowest proportion (1.1%, 1/93).was assayed only in these SFTSV-positive tick pools, and co-infection was found in bothand, though it was most frequent in.