title: Sensitive and specific PCR systems for detection of both Chinese and Japanese severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus strains and prediction of patient survival based on viral load.
abstract: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with a high case fatality risk and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). A retrospective study conducted after the first identification of an SFTS patient in Japan revealed that SFTS is endemic to the region, and the virus exists indigenously in Japan. Since the nucleotide sequence of Japanese SFTSV strains contains considerable differences compared with that of Chinese strains, there is an urgent need to establish a sensitive and specific method capable of detecting the Chinese and Japanese strains of SFTSV. A conventional one-step reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) (cvPCR) method and a quantitative one-step RT-PCR (qPCR) method were developed to detect the SFTSV genome. Both cvPCR and qPCR detected a Chinese SFTSV strain. Forty-one of 108 Japanese patients suspected of having SFTS showed a positive reaction by cvPCR. The results from the samples of 108 Japanese patients determined by the qPCR method were in almost complete agreement with those determined by cvPCR. The analyses of the viral copy number level in the patient blood samples at the acute phase determined by qPCR in association with the patient outcome confirmed that the SFTSV RNA load in the blood of the nonsurviving patients was significantly higher than that of the surviving patients. Therefore, the cvPCR and qPCR methods developed in this study can provide a powerful means for diagnosing SFTS. In addition, the detection of the SFTSV genome level by qPCR in the blood of the patients at the acute phase may serve as an indicator to predict the outcome of SFTS.
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuetsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukushi
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Aiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuma
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: Yamaguchi Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environment, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.affiliation: Hiroshima Prefectural Technology Research Institute, Public Health and Environment Center, Minami-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimazu
authors.affiliation: Miyazaki Prefectural Institute for Public Health and Environment, Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.affiliation: The Public Institute of Kochi Prefecture, Marunochi, Kochi-shi, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morimitsu
authors.affiliation: Saga Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Pharmaceutical Research, Saga-shi, Saga, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.affiliation: Nagasaki Prefectural Institute for Environmental Research and Public Health, Omura-shi, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Ehime Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Matsuyama-shi, Ehime, Japan.
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: Tottori Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Yurihama-cho Tohaku-gun, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Ibaraki Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Mito-shi, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Motoya
authors.affiliation: Gifu Prefectural Institute for Public Health and Environmental Science, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuzuguchi
authors.affiliation: Tokushima Prefectural Public Health, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences Centre, Tokushima-shi, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.affiliation: Kumamoto Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Uto-shi, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Osako
authors.affiliation: Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Higashinari-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yumisashi
authors.affiliation: Okayama Prefectural Institute for Public Health and Environmental Science, Minami-ku Okayama-shi, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.affiliation: Shizuoka City Institute of Environmental Sciences and Public Health, Suruga-ku Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Shimane Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Matsue-shi, Shimane, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takimoto
authors.affiliation: Public Health Science Research Center, Hyogo Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Consumer Sciences, Hyogo-ku Kobe-shi, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitamoto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Yamaguchi Grand Medical Center, Hofu, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan shimoji-@nih.go.jp.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimojima
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology; D002044:Bunyaviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016856:Phlebovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011379:Prognosis; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D019562:Viral Load / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral