Cutaneous histopathology of the tick-bite region in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

A case of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in which a skin biopsy from the tick-bite region was analyzed is reported. The patient was a 72-year-old woman who developed fever and thrombocytopenia after a tick bite. SFTS was diagnosed from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of a blood sample. Histopathological analysis of a skin biopsy specimen from the tick-bite region showed CD20-positive perivascular and interstitial immunoblastic cells, which were positive to anti-SFTS virus (SFTSV) nucleoprotein antibody. In addition, SFTSV RNA was detected by real-time PCR from this biopsy specimen. Moreover, hemophagocytosis was also found in the tick-bite region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to analyze the details of the tick-bite region of skin in SFTS, and the first to detect virus-infected cells in the skin. The present findings may help elucidate the mechanisms of entry of SFTSV.