Until recently, the cause of the disease was not clear, but new research may have identified the culprit: a blood-sucking mite. Scientists from Foshan University in Guangdong Province, China, have documented the discovery of a previously unknown pathogen called the Alongshan virus.
Their discovery is based on a sample of the virus taken from the blood of a 42-year-old female farmer from Alonshan who contracted fever, headaches and nausea.
After the virus was isolated from her blood, genome sequencing and electron microscopy showed that it was indeed a virus that had never been reported before. It's important to note that doctors also noticed that she had a history of tick bites.
At least 86 people have contracted the disease, namely in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang Province. Of the 86 people, 84 were farmers or forest workers who live in hilly or wooded areas and work in the fields.
These ideas led researchers to search for ticks in the forest, where patients were bitten. The species is actually the culprit for various tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, and Siberian and Far Eastern tick-borne encephalitis.
Ticks are a particularly effective vector for pathogens as they hijack hosts and feed on their blood.
The team of scientists discovered that the virus was found in ticks. Even more surprising, evidence of the virus was also found in mosquitoes collected in Jilin province, meaning they cannot be ruled out as possible causes.
While the virus has only been reported in northeastern China, researchers say it could potentially spread elsewhere as the tick is found in East Asia, Siberia, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe.
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The good news is that there is no evidence that the virus can spread from person to person. At least for now…