Seroprevalence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in medium-sized wild mammals in Miyazaki, Japan

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Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a fatal emerging tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTSV infection in humans and companion animals is a matter of concern in endemic areas. Various wild animals are involved in the transmission cycle of SFTSV with vector ticks. Because the home range of medium-sized wild mammals commonly overlaps with humans’ living spheres, this study aimed to reveal the endemicity of SFTSV in such mammals. This study investigated the prevalence of antibodies against SFTSV and viral RNA in medium-sized wild mammals in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan where human cases have been most frequently reported in Japan and performed a phylogenetic analysis to compare the detected SFTSV with those previously reported. Forty-three of 63 (68%) Japanese badgers (Meles anakuma) and 12 of 53 (23%) Japanese raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) had antibodies against SFTSV. Japanese marten (n = 1), weasels (n = 4), and Japanese red fox (n = 1) were negative. Two of 63 (3%) badgers tested positive for SFTSV RNA, whereas the other species were negative. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial nucleotide sequence of SFTSV revealed that viral RNA detected from badgers exhibited 99.8% to 100% similarity to SFTSV, as previously reported in humans, cat, and ticks in the study area. This study demonstrated high seropositivity of antibodies in medium-sized wild mammals and suggested that SFTSV could be shared among these mammals, humans, and companion animals in endemic areas.