2.1 Specimen source
Blood sample: A total of 17 cases of suspected SFTS were reported from May 2019 to October 2019 in Shenyang Infectious Disease Hospital. Serum was collected from the patients and stored at −80 °C. human samples were reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of China CDC.
Tick samples: free ticks in patients’ farmlands, forests, and other environments in nearby counties and cities were collected. Liquid nitrogen milling, and centrifugation were performed to prepare tick suspensions. Total nucleic acid extraction was performed as in the following method, and reverse screening for virus isolation was performed.