Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus cases in Inner Mongolia, Digi Mart USA News (Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia): Researchers have confirmed the first detection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus RNA in serum samples from two febrile patients in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia. The infections were identified in 2022.
These infections represent the first documented autochthonous human cases in this northern Chinese province, where the virus had previously been detected only in tick populations without prior clinical human reports. The two patients were a 41-year-old male and a 44-year-old female, both with a history of arthropod bites.
Both patients presented with thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and elevated liver enzymes. After antiviral and anti-inflammatory therapy, both patients recovered.
Laboratory characterization yielded two viral isolates, designated ZF53-NM-2022 and ZF96-NM-2022, both classified under genotype C3.
Separately, tick virome sequencing of Dermacentor nuttalli specimens collected in Erenhot City in 2024 identified a near-complete viral genome from a single pool. Designated ELH_tick_2024, this isolate was also classified as genotype C3 but forms a distinct divergent lineage, with a partial gap in the nucleoprotein open reading frame attributed to low viral RNA abundance.
The case report provides the first laboratory-confirmed evidence of autochthonous human infection alongside genomic detection in local ticks, highlighting the expanding geographic distribution of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. The authors concluded that the findings demonstrate the emergence of the pathogen in Inner Mongolia and underscore the need for enhanced clinical awareness and expanded surveillance across northern China.
The study, led by Lv, X. and colleagues, was published in Virology Journal (2026), doi:10.1186/s12985-026-03352-6.
