Case report
Open access
First autochthonous case of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan
Naganori Nao
Nozomu Inoue
Takahiro Maeki
Ken Maeda
T. Yoshikawa
M. Shimojima
H. Ebihara
Kei Watari
Kazuya Mitsuhashi
Kazuma Tamiya
Hiroki Yamaguchi
Yoshiaki Hitomi
Hiroki Harada
Atsuhito Ikeda
Asako Shigeno
Rika Kurino
A. Ohnishi
Masayuki Kikuchi
Yoshie Miyakita
Tomohiro Hatta
Ryosuke Kawahara
Takuya Mori
Wataru Furusawa
Akiko Hatakeyama
Masayuki Saijo
Y. Shichinohe
K. Matsuno
Medicine
Abstract
Highlights • First severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) case officially notified in Hokkaido, where no human or animal cases had previously been reported.• No travel history to known SFTS-endemic areas suggested local acquisition of SFTS virus (SFTSV) infection.• SFTSV infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, virus isolation, and serology.• Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the isolate may not be assignable to any previously recognized clade.• Findings highlight the need for enhanced surveillance and diagnostic preparedness for SFTS in Hokkaido.