It has been confirmed that five people in Japan have died of severe fever associated with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a virus infection believed to be transmitted by ticks. It's possible that the number of deaths from the disease will increase. The central government needs to collect information on suspected cases from local governments and make efforts to establish an effective treatment for SFTS.
People also need to be aware that ticks transmit other diseases as well, such as Japanese scarlet fever, Lyme disease and rabbit fever. Trombiculid mites (tsutsugamushi) transmit scrub typhus. It is important for people to take utmost care to guard against bites from ticks, which live in fields and forests.
From around 2009, several hundred SFTS cases were reported in China. In 2011, a particular virus that causes the disease was identified. The disease has an incubation period of six days to two weeks and causes nausea, fever and diarrhea. It is characterized by a fall in the number of blood platelets and white blood cells. It can also cause subcutaneous bleeding and melena. The mortality rate in China was said to be about 12 percent.
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