Epidemic potential of SFTSV: increasing evidence for non-vector-borne transmission

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV; formally Dabie bandavirus), was first discovered during investigations of an acute febrile illness of unknown aetiology in central China in 2009. Patients with SFTS can show high viraemic titres, with viral nucleic acid detectable in blood, urine, faeces, and other bodily fluids (respiratory secretions and, notably, semen) during the acute phase. SFTS has subsequently been reported in Japan and South Korea, with a crude case-fatality rate of approximately 7·8%.