Seroprevalence and genetic characterization of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in domestic goats in South Korea

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a newly emerging tick-borne infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). To investigate the prevalence of SFTSV in domestic goats in South Korea, we collected blood samples in commercial slaughterhouses in Chungbuk Province in 2017. Of the 207 samples tested, 4 (2%) were found to be positive for viral RNA by RT-PCR and 30 (14.4%) were positive for SFTSV antibody as detected by a nucleocapsid (NP) protein-based ELISA. Phylogenetic analysis of the non-structural protein (NS) sequences showed that all viruses belonged to the genotype B, although they were clustered into two different sublineages that showed the highest homology with the KR612076-JP01 and KY789441-CB3 human isolate from South Korea. Further, we confirmed the specificity of seropositive goat sera by FRNT50 and western blotting analysis and found differential cross-reactivity of the sera with genotype A and B SFTSV strains. Collectively, this study suggests that relatively high numbers of goats are infected by antigenically different SFTSV strains, which might have a potential for zoonotic infection.