BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s Department of Disease Control is asking health authorities to closely monitor Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), an emerging viral infection that can cause high fever, low platelet counts and potentially fatal complications. The department’s Epidemiology Division said SFTS can begin with sudden high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea before progressing to thrombocytopenia, liver inflammation, shock and multiple-organ failure. Reported fatality rates in affected countries range from 10% to 30%.
SFTS is primarily associated with ticks, although transmission from animals to humans and between people through exposure to an infected patient’s blood or bodily fluids has also been reported. The World Health Organization reported that two laboratory-confirmed cases in Phetchabun in June 2025 were associated with close contact with pet dogs, while infected dog ticks were found around the patients’ homes.
Thailand first confirmed an SFTS case in 2019. Retrospective testing later identified additional infections in Bangkok and nearby provinces. The latest cases reported in June 2025 brought the number of identified cases cited by Thai health authorities to six, with cases reported in Bangkok, Phetchabun, Nakhon Pathom and Chachoengsao.
The department said Thailand has several factors that could allow further infections, including environments suitable for ticks, close contact with pets that may carry ticks, the importation of animals that could harbour ticks and travel to areas where SFTS is circulating. The tick of concern can feed on a wide range of animals, including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, wild animals and rodents. It can also bite humans.
Thai authorities have previously found the relevant tick species during surveys in some national parks, although there has not been conclusive evidence establishing that the tick has become permanently established in Thailand. The Department of Disease Control has therefore asked provincial health offices, the Bangkok health authorities and disease-control units to strengthen surveillance and follow developments involving SFTS.
Health officials have also highlighted the importance of considering SFTS in patients with fever and low platelet counts, particularly when there is a history of tick exposure. A 2026 study has provided further evidence linking SFTS infections in Thailand with Rhipicephalus sanguineus, commonly known as the brown dog tick. Researchers detected the virus in ticks collected from dogs and the environment associated with two fatal human infections, adding to concerns about dog-associated tick transmission. Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation while urging greater awareness among health workers and the public, particularly where people have close contact with animals that may carry ticks. (Story, Photo: Khaosod)
