A person-to-person transmission cluster of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome characterized by mixed viral infections with familial and nosocomial clustering

Abstract

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease with sporadic occurrence and high mortality. Herein, we report an example of the in-hospital transmission of SFTS virus (SFTSV) infections with familial and nosocomial clustering in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, from March to April 2023. The epidemiological investigation and genomic analysis revealed that at least eight suspected cases of SFTS occurred in this cluster, including one death and one asymptomatic case. Our report reemphasizes the risk of familial and nosocomial SFTSV infections in healthcare settings and the urgent need for the long-term systematic surveillance of SFTSV evolution in humans and animals in the eastern coastal regions of China.

Keywords

• Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus
• Person-to-person transmission
• Genomic characterization
• Familial clustering
• Nosocomial infection