Mixed Infection with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus and Two Genotypes of Scrub Typhus in a Patient, South Korea, 2017

Abstract

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne viral disease with a high mortality rate. Infection can also occur through close contact with an infected patient. Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by <i>Orientia tsutsugamushi</i>, a bacterium transmitted to humans through chigger mite bites. South Korea is an endemic region of SFTS and scrub typhus. In this study, we confirmed that a patient was coinfected with SFTS virus and two (Boryong and Taguchi) genotypes of <i>O. tsutsugamushi</i>.