Pathogens and epidemiologic feature of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Hubei province, China

•The research of this paper showed that some suspected SFTS cases are confused with HV infection due to similar symptoms.•No case of simultaneous infection with two or more pathogens was found.•The distribution of SFTSV has a marked regional aggregation in Hubei Province.•Combining qPCR and ELISA can increase sensitivity markedly for diagnosis of SFTSV infection.

To evaluate the aetiological agents and epidemiologic features of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in Hubei province, China, sera from patients were collected from January to December 2011. All cases occurred from April to December, and the epidemic peaked from May to August. The ages of patients ranged from 10 to 86 years (median = 55 years), and the incidence of SFTS increased with age. The female:male ratio of cases was 1.008:1, and 54.6% (77/141) and 1.4% (2/141) of the cases were confirmed by qPCR to be SFTSV and Hantavirus (HV) infection, respectively. No case of simultaneous infection with two or more pathogens was found. The research in this paper showed that some suspected SFTS cases are confused with HV infection due to similar symptoms. The analysis showed that the distribution of SFTSV has a marked regional aggregation in Hubei province.