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Health Day reporter
THURSDAY, October 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Japanese scientists have discovered another tick-borne virus that can make people sick.
The Yezo virus is transmitted by tick bites and causes fever and reduced blood platelets and white blood cells.
“At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan since 2014, but so far no deaths have been confirmed,” said Keita Matsuno, virologist at the International Zoonoses Institute of Hokkaido University.
“It is very likely that the disease is beyond Hokkaido, so we urgently need to investigate its spread,” Matsuno said in a college press release.
In 2019, a 41-year-old man was hospitalized with fever and leg pain after possibly being bitten by a tick while walking in a local forest in Hokkaido. He was treated and released from hospital after two weeks, but tests showed he had not been infected with any known virus carried by ticks in the area.
The following year, another patient was treated for similar symptoms following a tick bite.
Genetic analyzes of viruses in blood samples from both patients identified the Yezo virus. Yezo is a historic Japanese name for Hokkaido, a large island in northern Japan.
Tests of blood samples from other hospital patients who had similar symptoms after tick bites since 2014 have revealed five more patients with the Yezo virus.
The researchers then moved on to find the source of the virus and found antibodies to the virus in sika deer and raccoons in Hokkaido, and Yezo RNA in three major tick species in Hokkaido, according to the study. It was published online recently in the journal Nature Communication.
“The Yezo virus appears to have established its distribution in Hokkaido, and it is very likely that the virus causes disease when transmitted to humans from animals via ticks,” Matsuno said.
Researchers said more hospitals should test for the virus in patients with symptoms suggesting Yezo infection.
The Yezo virus is most closely related to the Sulina and Tamdy viruses, which have been detected in Romania and Uzbekistan, respectively. There are reports that the Tamdy virus has caused acute fever in people in China.
Tick-borne diseases are a global threat. In the United States, Lyme disease, babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are some of the illnesses to watch out for.
More information
The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more information on tick-borne illnesses.
SOURCE: Hokkaido University, press release, October 3, 2021
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