Dabie bandavirus identified from patients with Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in northwestern of Hubei Province, China, 2024

Mengzhu Zhang¹Peixi Fu¹Zhongji Meng¹Yuqian He¹Xueqin Qin¹Sen Luo¹Yunzhen Xu¹Li Liu¹Guangyu Qiu²Yang Liu²Yanli Peng³Fangmin Song⁴Tianyi Xu⁴Jiao Yin^5*Mingming Liu^5*Chuanmin Wang^1*

• ¹Department of Infectious Diseases, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China, Shiyan, China
• ²Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, China
• ³Yunyang People's Hospital Department of Infectious Diseases, Shiyan, China
• ⁴Yunxi People's Hospital Department of Infectious Diseases, Shiyan, China
• ⁵Hubei University of Arts and Science School of Basic Medicine, Xiangyang, China

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), caused by Dabie bandavirus (DBV), is a zoonotic disease characterized by substantial mortality. Hubei province is an epidemic region with a high incidence rate of SFTS. The clinical manifestations and case fatality rates (CFRs) of SFTS correlate with specific geographic regions and genotypes of DBV. From January to December 2024, we collected serum samples from 69 suspected DBV-infected patients in northwestern Hubei Province, China, of which 19 tested positive for DBV, revealing a CFR of 31.6% (6/19). Clinical investigations identified bleeding, disturbance of consciousness, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN), prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and high viral load ( ≥10 ⁷ copies/mL) as critical prognostic indicators. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis of the L, M, and S gene segments revealed genotype F as the predominant lineage in this region. This study delineates the genomic diversity and genotype distribution of circulating SFTSV strains, providing insights into viral etiology in northwestern Hubei. Furthermore, specific clinical/laboratory markers may signal adverse outcomes, emphasizing the imperative for symptom recognition and dynamic monitoring of critical laboratory parameters.