Long-Term Detection and Isolation of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) Virus in Dog Urine

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne infection caused by the Davie bandavirus (the SFTS virus; SFTSV), and its fatality rate is approximately 30% in humans. Recently, cases of contact infection with SFTSV via bodily fluids of infected dogs and cats have been reported. In this study, clinical and virological analyses were performed in two dogs in which SFTSV infection was confirmed for the first time in the Toyama prefecture. Both dogs recovered on days 2 and 7 after the onset of disease. One was severely ill and the other mildly ill. In these two cases, the SFTSV gene was detected in the dogs’ urine at a higher concentration than in other specimens, and that the detection period for the gene was >2 months after onset. The virus isolation was unsuccessful in the frozen urine specimens, but only in the refrigerated urine specimens. Based on these findings, owners and veterinarians should be careful when handling bodily fluids, especially urine, even after the symptoms have disappeared.

(RN)