A Model for the Production of Regulatory Grade Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Exposure Stocks: From Field Surveillance to Advanced Characterization of SFTSV
Abstract
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is an emerging human pathogen, endemic in areas of China, Japan, and the Korea (KOR). It is primarily transmitted through infected ticks and can cause a severe hemorrhagic fever disease with case fatality rates as high as 30%. Despite its high virulence and increasing prevalence, molecular and functional studies in situ are scarce due to the limited availability of high-titer SFTSV exposure stocks. During the course of field virologic surveillance in 2017, we detected SFTSV in ticks and in a symptomatic soldier in a KOR Army training area. SFTSV was isolated from the ticks producing a high-titer viral exposure stock. Through the use of advanced genomic tools, we present here a complete, in-depth characterization of this viral stock, including a comparison with both the virus in its arthropod source and in the human case, and an in vivo study of its pathogenicity. Thanks to this detailed characterization, this SFTSV viral exposure stock constitutes a quality biological tool for the study of this viral agent and for the development of medical countermeasures, fulfilling the requirements of the main regulatory agencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 29, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.3390/v12090958
Entities
People
- Brett Beitzel
- Byung-sub Choi
- Courtney Finch
- Daesang Lee
- Daniel S Reyes
- Dong Hyun Song
- Elyse Nagle
- Gustavo Palacios
- Heung-Chul Kim
- Hong Sang Oh
- Janie Liang
- Jens H. Kuhn
- Joseph A. Chitty
- Jun Liu
- Kathleen A. Kuehl
- Katie Caviness
- Kayla M. Coffin
- Kurt Cooper
- Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart
- Nicholas Di Paola
- Russ Byrum
- Se Hun Gu
- Seong Tae Jeong
- Sung-tae Chong
- Terry A. Klein
- Unai Pérez-Sautu
- Woong Seog
- Xiankun Zeng
- Yu-jin Kim
Organizations
- Agency for Defense Development
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases