Rapid Spread of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus by Parthenogenetic Asian Longhorned Ticks

• DOI: 10.3201/eid2802.211532
• Publication Date: 2022-01-06T03:47:06Z
• Authors: Xing Zhang; Chaoyue Zhao; Chaoyuan Cheng; Guogang Zhang; Tao Yu; Kevin Lawrence; Hongyue Li; Jimin Sun; Zeyu Yang; Ling Ye; Hongliang Chu; Ying Wang; Xiaohu Han; Yongchao Jia; Shuozhang Fan; Hirotaka Kanuka; Tetsuya Tanaka; Cheryl Jenkins; Kristene Gedye; Shona Chandra; Dana C. Price; Qiyong Liu; Young Ki Choi; Xiangjiang Zhan; Zhibin Zhang; Aihua Zheng
• Keywords: Phlebovirus; 0301 basic medicine; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus; Ixodidae; Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Bunyaviridae Infections; 1117 Public Health and Health Services; ticks; 03 medical and health sciences; Ticks; 1108 Medical Microbiology; Animals; Phylogeny; SFTS; Research; R; Asian longhorned ticks; 1103 Clinical Sciences; 3. Good health; Medicine; Female; SFTSV; severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is spreading rapidly in Asia. This virus is transmitted by the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), which has parthenogenetically and sexually reproducing populations. Parthenogenetic populations were found in ≥15 provinces in China and strongly correlated with the distribution of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome cases. However, distribution of these cases was poorly correlated with the distribution of populations of bisexual ticks. Phylogeographic analysis suggested that the parthenogenetic population spread much faster than bisexual population because colonization is independent of sexual reproduction. A higher proportion of parthenogenetic ticks was collected from migratory birds captured at an SFTSV-endemic area, implicating the contribution to the long-range movement of these ticks in China. The SFTSV susceptibility of parthenogenetic females was similar to that of bisexual females under laboratory conditions. These results suggest that parthenogenetic Asian longhorned ticks, probably transported by migratory birds, play a major role in the rapid spread of SFTSV.