The first reported cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from domestic sick camel to humans in China.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease with an increasing annual incidence rate. In this case report, we presented two patients infected with the SFTS virus, suggesting a potential direct transmission route from camels to humans through blood contact. Both patients developed symptoms after engaging in the slaughtering of one sick camel, while their family members living in the same environment or co-diners remained unaffected. Subsequent detection revealed a high viral load of SFTS virus, reaching 1010 viral RNA copies/ml, in the sample obtained from the sick camel. Metagenomic sequencing did not identify any other pathogens. The SFTS virus was successfully isolated from both patient and camel samples. The complete nucleotide sequences obtained from the infected patients demonstrated a remarkable 100% similarity to those found in the camel, and genetic evolution analysis classified the virus as genotype A. Additionally, partial sequences of the SFTS virus were identified in ticks captured from the camel rearing environment, however, these sequences showed only 95.9% similarity to those found in camel and humans. Furthermore, immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies were detected in serum samples collected from the patient. Our findings provide evidence that camel may serve as a competent reservoir for transmitting the SFTS virus to humans. Further in vitro investigations into SFTS virus infections in large animals are warranted to understand their role in viral maintenance and transmission.

Laboratory diagnosis and genotype identification of scrub typhus from Pinggu district, Beijing, 2008 and 2010.

This study was conducted to determine the diagnosis and genotype of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Pinggu district, Beijing. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was performed to detect O. tsutsugamushi-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing analysis targeting the O. tsutsugamushi-specific groEL gene and 56 kDa protein gene were performed on whole-blood samples from scrub typhus patients. We confirmed that 47 patients were infected with scrub typhus in Pinggu district, Beijing. Representative sequences amplified by primers according to the groEL gene (BJ-PG-2008; GenBank accession No. JQ894502) and the 56 kDa protein gene (PG-56kDa; GenBank accession No. JX843795) both clustered with Kawasaki. PG-56kDa had sequence homology of 100% with TADY12-0308, shandong-XDM2, Neimeng-90, and sdu-1 and sequence homology of 96% with Kawasaki, Taguchi, Oishi, and Kanda. We confirmed the genotype of O. tsutsugamushi in Pinggu district, Beijing, as Kawasaki, and the patient in 2008 confirmed in this study was the first patient with confirmed scrub typhus in Beijing.