Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Acquired through Dog Bite, South Korea

Abstract

A veterinary technician in South Korea contracted severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from a dog bite. Molecular evidence, including PCR sequencing, supports dog-to-human transmission. The case underscores the zoonotic risks posed by companion animals and highlights the importance of preventive measures.

Keywords: Dabie bandavirus; South Korea; bite; dog; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome; transmission; viruses; zoonoses.

Figure

Phylogenetic analysis of SFTSV small (321 bp) (A), medium (477 bp) (B), and large (696 bp) (C) segments from human patient and dog, South Korea. Clustal X version 2.1 (http://www.clustal.org/clustal2) was used to construct the phylogenetic trees by using neighbor-joining with 1,000 bootstrap replicates. Genotypes of SFTSV are labeled (a, b, d, e, f). BLASTn (https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) analysis revealed and nucleotide identity with reference SFTSV strain MF094812 of 99.44% (534/537) for the patient sample and 99.45% (541/544) for the dog sample; nucleotide identity with reference SFTSV strain MF094735 was 99.62% (785/788) for the patient sample and 99.63% (802/805) for the dog sample. The large segment nested PCR results showed 100% identity between the 2 samples. Scale bar indicates number of nucleotide substitutions per site. SFTSV, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.