Epidemiology of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome in Dogs and Cats in Taiwan

Kuan, Chih YingChih YingKuanOu, Shan ChiaShan ChiaOuChang, Chao ChinChao ChinChangKao, Pei LingPei LingKaoTsai, Ruei ShengRuei ShengTsaiRattanapanadda, PorjaiPorjaiRattanapanaddaLin, Tsai LuTsai LuLinMaeda, KenKenMaedaCheng, Tsun LiTsun LiChengYA-JANE LEEChuang, Shih TeShih TeChuangLin, Shiun LongShiun LongLinLiu, Hsien YuehHsien YuehLiuLin, Fong YuanFong YuanLinLin, Jen WeiJen WeiLinHsu, Wei-LiWei-LiHsuChou, Chi ChungChi ChungChou2024-01-152024-01-152023-12-011999-4915https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85180722951&doi=10.3390%2fv15122338&partnerID=40&md5=a02e12a8e581e29a54115a421ff0fcd8https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/638496Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), caused by the SFTS Virus (SFTSV), is a global health threat. SFTSV in Taiwan has only been reported in ruminants and wild animals. Thus, we aimed to investigate the infection statuses of dogs and cats, the animals with closer human interactions. Overall, the SFTSV RNA prevalence was 23% (170/735), with dogs showing a 25.9% (111/429) prevalence and cats at 19.3% (59/306) prevalence. Noticeably, the prevalence in stray animals (39.8% 77/193) was significantly higher than in domesticated ones (17.2%, 93/542). Among the four categories analyzed, the highest SFTSV prevalence was found in the stray dogs at 53.9% (120/193), significantly higher than the 24.2% prevalence noted in stray cats. In contrast, domesticated animals exhibited similar prevalence rates, with 17.1% for dogs and 17.2% for cats. It is noteworthy that in the domesticated animal groups, a significantly elevated prevalence (45%, 9/20) was observed among cats exhibiting thrombocytopenia compared to those platelet counts in the reference range (4.8%, 1/21). The high infection rate in stray animals, especially stray dogs, indicated that exposure to various outdoor environments influences the prevalence of infections. Given the higher human interaction with dogs and cats, there is a need for proactive measures to reduce the risk associated with the infection of SFTSV in both animals and humans.encat | dog | emerging tick-borne disease | RNA prevalence | Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS)Epidemiology of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome in Dogs and Cats in Taiwanjournal article10.3390/v15122338381405792-s2.0-85180722951https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85180722951