Alongshan Virus — Another Cause of Tickborne Infection

The relatively recent recognition of tickborne infection due to Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia mayonii, and Powassan virus have highlighted the limits of our understanding of the breadth of pathogens that can be transmitted by ticks. Ongoing surveillance for tickborne infections in China has now identified yet another previously unidentified RNA virus as a cause of acute human febrile illness.

The index case was a female farmer from the town of Alongshan who presented in April 2017 to a hospital in Inner Mongolia with fever, headache, and a history of tick bites. When initial testing did not identify a known cause of infection, further workup was undertaken, including viral culture, electron microscopy, and subsequent genetic and serologic ana…