J Korean Med Sci.  2017 Jan;32(1):29-32. 10.3346/jkms.2017.32.1.29.

Seroprevalence of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome in Southeastern Korea, 2015

• Kim KH
• Ko MK
• Kim N
• Kim HH
• Yi J

• KMID: 2417581
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.1.29

Abstract

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease characterized by fever, thrombocytopenia and diarrhea. SFTS was firstly reported in Korea in 2013 but its seroprevalence in the country has yet to be investigated. Here, we investigate the seroprevalence of SFTS in a Korean population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who had their sera tested for various reasons at a tertiary university hospital on particular days in May 2015. This study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in southeastern Korea. Total antibodies including immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM), specific to SFTS virus (SFTSV) in serum samples were detected by a double-antigen sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 1,069 serum samples were tested. Median age was 59 years (range 12-96 years), and 51.5% were male. Overall, 22 patients (2.1%) were tested positive for anti-SFTSV antibodies. The SFTS seroprevalence increased significantly with age (P = 0.034). The seropositive rate of rural area was higher than that of urban area (7.7% vs. 1.9%, P = 0.040). Seropositive rates were not significantly different among underlying diseases. None of the antibody-positive patients showed typical symptoms or laboratory findings of SFTS at the time of sample collection. Results of real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were negative for all the seropositive patients. Our study shows 2.1% SFTS seroprevalence among the patients visiting a tertiary hospital in Korea. Seroprevalence is higher in older and rural population.

Keyword

Bunyaviridae Infections; Zoonosis; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Communicable Diseases, Emerging

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Bunyaviridae Infections
Communicable Diseases, Emerging
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diarrhea
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Fever*
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M
Korea*
Male
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Reverse Transcription
Rural Population
Seroepidemiologic Studies*
Tertiary Care Centers
Thrombocytopenia*
Tick-Borne Diseases
Antibodies
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M

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