Photo/Illutration A microscope image of the SFTS virus (Provided by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases)

Experts are sounding the alarm that reported cases of a dangerous tick-borne illness reached record levels in Japan during the pandemic and that infected pets are one means of transmission. 

Known as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, the highly fatal viral hemorrhagic fever spreads to humans through ixodid ticks, which are typically found in mountains, forests and fields.

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan saw a record 110 SFTS patients in 2021 followed by 118 in 2022. Between January 2021 and the end of July 2022, 187 people became infected with SFTS in Japan and at least 17 died.

According to the 2019 treatment guidelines compiled by government-commissioned experts, humans who became infected with the SFTS virus suffer from vomiting, rectal bleeding and fever and have a fatality rate as high as 25 to 30 percent.

Farmers and forestry workers face the most risk since going out into fields or mountainous areas carries a risk of contracting the virus, but the disease is increasingly being found elsewhere. Many SFTS patients are also elderly.

Experts are now also finding that pets are another means for the disease to spread after being bitten by the hard ticks that carry it, so the health ministry is calling on the public to exercise caution since there is no effective treatment other than alleviating the symptoms.

When SFTS first emerged in Japan, cases were concentrated in western Japan, but the virus now appears to increasingly be spreading eastward, as Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures confirmed their first cases in 2021, followed by Toyama Prefecture in 2022.

SFTS is an emerging infectious disease, with the first patient found in China in 2011. Ensuing cases have mostly been found in East Asia, and the first case in Japan was reported in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 2013.

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The Asahi Shimbun

Experts believe that fatalities from SFTS are declining as the number of patients in Japan increases.

But the increasing prevalence of the disease has veterinarians on high alert.

Tamaki Okabayashi, a veterinarian and professor at Miyazaki University, studied how the disease is transmitted and found that cats and dogs are suspected sources in many cases where vets or pet owners suffer from the disease.

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 10 people who work in veterinary medicine have been infected with SFTS since 2018.

The first SFTS patients confirmed in Shizuoka Prefecture in 2021 also had occupations that involved access to animals. The association of veterinarians in the prefecture responded by publishing a pamphlet to raise awareness about the dangerous new disease among pet owners.

The literature recommends pet owners check their cats or dogs for bites in areas ticks often attach themselves to, such as the head, ears and paws.

It also encourages pet owners to consult veterinarians if their pets show symptoms such as a fever, lack of energy or appetite or yellow urine.

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