Tick-borne disease kills Japanese woman after being bitten by sick cat
An unnamed Japanese woman in her 50s was killed last year by a tick-borne disease after she was bitten by a sick stray cat in what could be the first such mammal-to-human transmission, according to Japan’s healthy ministry.
The woman has been helping the sick cat. Ten days later she died of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), which is carried by ticks.With no tick bite detected, doctors assume the illness could have been contracted via the cat.
A Japanese healthy ministry official said no reports on animal-to-human transmission cases have been made so far. The official said it’s still not confirmed that the virus came from the cat but that it is possible that it is the first case of animal-to-human transmission.
SFTS is a relatively new infectious disease emerging in China, Korea and Japan. According to Japanese media, SFTS first occurred in the country in 2013.
Japan’s health ministry said last year’s death was still a rare case but warned people to be careful when in contact with animals in poor physical condition.
Globally, tick bites are widely associated with transmitting Lyme disease which can lead to severe illness and death if left untreated.