Temperature-dependent infectious stability of Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic pathogen of increasing concern in East Asia, including Japan. Not only humans but also domestic cats are highly susceptible and frequently develop severe disease. Despite its public and veterinary health significance, data on the environmental stability of SFTSV remain limited. In this study, we evaluated the stability profiles of SFTSV under various temperature and inactivation conditions. As comparative controls, Kabuto Mountain virus (KAMV) which belongs to the same class and order as SFTSV, Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) representing a different type of enveloped virus, and Feline Calicivirus (FCV) representing an example of non-enveloped virus, were also tested. SFTSV showed higher infectious stability at 4°C, 23°C and 37°C compared to KAMV, JEV and FCV. In addition, SFTSV demonstrated comparatively higher resistance to heat inactivation at 56°C and 94°C. On the other hand, SFTSV was easily inactivated by ethanol, hypochlorite and ultraviolet irradiation. These findings provide important insights into the environmental persistence and inactivation requirements of SFTSV, suggesting that appropriate inactivation procedures are important to reduce the risk of SFTSV infection from the contaminated samples at clinical sites and laboratories.