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

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rapid Spread of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus by Parthenogenetic Asian Longhorned Ticks

AU - Zhang, Xing

AU - Zhao, Chaoyue

AU - Cheng, Chaoyuan

AU - Zhang, Guogang

AU - Yu, Tao

AU - Lawrence, Kevin

AU - Li, Hongyue

AU - Sun, Jimin

AU - Yang, Zeyu

AU - Ye, Ling

AU - Chu, Hongliang

AU - Wang, Ying

AU - Han, Xiaohu

AU - Jia, Yongchao

AU - Fan, Shuozhang

AU - Kanuka, Hirotaka

AU - Tanaka, aaa Tetsuya

AU - Jenkins, Cheryl

AU - Gedye, Kristene

AU - Chandra, Shona

AU - Price, Dana C.

AU - Liu, Qiyong

AU - Ki Choi, Young

AU - Zhan, Xiangjiang

AU - Zhang, Zhibin

AU - Zheng, Aihua

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All rights reserved.

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85123638211

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85123638211#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.3201/eid2802.211532

DO - 10.3201/eid2802.211532

M3 - Article

C2 - 35075994

SN - 1080-6040

VL - 28

SP - 363

EP - 372

JO - Emerging Infectious Diseases

JF - Emerging Infectious Diseases

IS - 2

ER -