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日本一長者被蜱蟲咬後染Oz病毒死亡 成全球首宗個案

香港電台-國際 2023年6月24日週六 下午3:33

日本公布全球首宗被蜱蟲叮咬後感染Oz病毒死亡個案，死者是一名70多歲女子。 當地傳媒報道，Oz病毒是2018年在日本國內從蜱蟲身上檢測出來的一種病毒。去年初夏，一名住在茨城縣的70多歲女子出現倦怠感、食欲下降、嘔吐、關節痛等症狀，同時高燒達到攝氏39度，但新冠核酸檢測和抗原檢測均呈陰性。患者其後病情惡化送院，住院第26天突發心室纖維性顫動而死亡。 當局通過檢測患者入院時採集的血液、血清和尿液樣本，以及對遺體病理學解剖，判斷她死於Oz病毒感染導致的病毒性心肌炎。 厚生勞動省表示，由於被攜帶Oz病毒的蜱蟲叮咬後有可能受感染，提醒民眾到草叢等蜱蟲較多的地方時要注意，應穿著長袖上衣和長褲。

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The JapanTimes  NATIONAL / SCIENCE & HEALTH

First fatal case of tick-borne Oz virus reported in Japan

BY TOMOKO OTAKE  STAFF WRITER, Jun 23, 2023

A woman in her 70s in Ibaraki Prefecture who had suffered a tick bite died of myocarditis last year after being infected with the Oz virus, the health ministry said Friday.

While there have been reports of possible infections with the tick-borne virus in wildlife and humans, this is believed to be the world’s first fatal case, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the woman, who did not have a history of traveling abroad, visited a medical institution last summer with symptoms including fever, fatigue and joint pain. She was suspected of having pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics, but her symptoms worsened and she was hospitalized at Tsukuba Medical Center.

When she was admitted to the hospital, a hard tick was found sucking blood on the base of her right thigh. She died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, about a month later.

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), the Oz virus was first detected in 2018 in a hard tick whose academic name is amblyomma testudinarium, in Ehime Prefecture.

Antibodies for the Oz virus have been detected in wild animals such as Japanese macaques, wild boars and deer in Chiba, Gifu, Mie, Wakayama, Yamaguchi, and Oita prefectures. Blood tests of 24 hunters in Yamaguchi Prefecture have also found that two of them tested positive for antibodies of the Oz virus, indicating they may have been infected in the past, according to the ministry.

The Oz virus has so far not been found outside Japan, according to the ministry.

The ticks – featuring hard scales and measuring about 3 to 4 millimeters — are different from ticks often found indoors and are most often found in forests and bushes.

Since this is the first confirmed fatal case, it is hard to judge the virus’ severity or danger at this point, said Tadaki Suzuki, an infectious pathology expert at the NIID.

“This case shows that the virus can cause severe symptoms including deaths, but the past detection of people with the antibodies also shows that some people may develop no or only light symptoms,” he said.

The ministry says that the best precaution for people is to avoid exposing their skin when in areas where they may come in contact with hard ticks. It advises people going near bushes to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants to avoid getting bitten by them, especially from the spring through the fall when the insects become active. Bug repellants may also help.

Anyone who is bitten by such ticks should visit a doctor instead of trying to remove them themselves, the ministry said.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/23/national/science-health/worlds-first-oz-virus-death/