Abstract
Since 2010, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has established centers at 16 locations to monitor disease vectors and pathogens. Here, we examined tick populations to understand the geographical and temporal distribution of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) vectors in 2020. From April to November, 63,376 ticks were collected from traps to monitor tick populations, with a trap index of 41.3. Tick incidence varied from April to October, with population peaks observed for nymphs in May, adults in July, and larvae in September. The predominant tick species were Haemaphysalis longicornis, Haemaphysalis spp., H. flava, Ixodes spp., Amblyomma testudinarium, and Ixodes nipponensis. Approximately 50% of the collected ticks were pooled into 2973 groups to detect the rate of SFTSV infection in ticks. The minimum infection rate (MIR) of SFTSV was 0.2%, and Andong had the highest MIR for SFTSV (4.0%). The B3 genotype was the most prevalent (52.2%) followed by B2 (28.6%), B5 (15.9%), B4 (1.6%), and B6 (1.6%). We identified widely distributed tick species and a high degree of diversity in SFTSV strains in ticks from different geographical regions. The results may provide a basis for future epidemiological studies and risk assessments for tick-borne diseases.
Highlights
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging zoonotic tickborne infectious disease; the SFTS virus (SFTSV), recently renamed Huaiyangshan banyangvirus, belongs to the genus Banyangvirus in the family Phenuiviridae [1]
H. longicornis, H. flava, I. nipponensis, and Haemaphysalis spp. were evenly distributed throughout the country, whereas A. testudinarium and Ixodes spp. were mostly distributed in the Jinju (71%) and Dangjin (99.3%) regions, respectively, and H. japonica was only found in the Inje region (n = 2 ticks)
The use of dry ice traps is less time-consuming at each location, which can reduce the amount of time that samplers are exposed to potentially infected ticks
Summary
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging zoonotic tickborne infectious disease; the SFTS virus (SFTSV), recently renamed Huaiyangshan banyangvirus, belongs to the genus Banyangvirus in the family Phenuiviridae [1]. SFTSVs can be crudely classified into six genotypes (A–F) based on the classification method that was previously used in China [3]. The majority of Korean SFTSV isolates were classified as genotype B, which was divided into at least three different sub-genotypes (B1, B2, and B3) [4]. SFTS is known to be transmitted by several ticks [5,6], and ticks of the family Ixodidae are regarded as vectors of SFTSV. The role of ticks as vectors of SFTS and the proportion of infected individuals are crucial tools for appropriate tick-borne disease control programs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
