Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Pathological Characteristics of Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) Virus in a Patient Infected With Sfts Virus From a Sick Cat’s Bite

Version 1 : Received: 9 January 2021 / Approved: 11 January 2021 / Online: 11 January 2021 (17:48:51 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Tsuru, M.; Suzuki, T.; Murakami, T.; Matsui, K.; Maeda, Y.; Yoshikawa, T.; Kurosu, T.; Shimojima, M.; Shimada, T.; Hasegawa, H.; Maeda, K.; Morikawa, S.; Saijo, M. Pathological Characteristics of a Patient with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) Infected with SFTS Virus through a Sick Cat’s Bite. Viruses 2021, 13, 204. Tsuru, M.; Suzuki, T.; Murakami, T.; Matsui, K.; Maeda, Y.; Yoshikawa, T.; Kurosu, T.; Shimojima, M.; Shimada, T.; Hasegawa, H.; Maeda, K.; Morikawa, S.; Saijo, M. Pathological Characteristics of a Patient with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) Infected with SFTS Virus through a Sick Cat’s Bite. Viruses 2021, 13, 204.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: A woman in her 50s showed symptoms of fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, and general fatigue 2 days after she was bitten by a sick cat, which had later died, in Yamaguchi prefecture, western Japan, in June 2016. She subsequently died of multiorgan failure, and an autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death. However, the etiological pathogens were not quickly identified. The pathological features of the patient were retrospectively re-examined, and the pathology of the regional lymph node at the site of the cat bite was found to show necrotizing lymphadenitis with hemophagocytosis. The pathological features were noticed to be similar to those of patients reported to have severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). Therefore, the lymph node section was retrospectively tested immunohistochemically for SFTSV antigen, which revealed the presence of SFTSV antigen. The sick cat also showed similar symptoms and laboratory findings similar to those shown in human SFTS cases. It is highly possible that the patient was infected with SFTSV through the sick cat’s bite. If a patient gets sick in an SFTS-endemic region after a cat bite, SFTS should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Keywords

severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome; cat; companion animals; viral hemorrhagic fever; pathology

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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