Cases of deadly tick-borne disease in Japan rise faster than 2025

TOKYO (Kyodo/APP): Japan is seeing a rise in cases of a potentially fatal tick-borne disease, with the number of infections exceeding last year’s record pace, preliminary data from a national health research body shows.

 

A total of 72 cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, had been reported as of June 7, according to the data recently released by the Japan Institute for Health Security, compared with 68 during the same period in 2025, when Japan recorded an annual high of 192 cases.

 

Health minister Kenichiro Ueno said at a press conference Tuesday that the number of patients was trending upward. “Nationwide vigilance is necessary, and we will continue monitoring the infection situation,” he said.

 

As ticks are most active from spring through autumn, Ueno urged people to cover their skin when entering grassy areas and to use insect repellent on pet dogs and cats.

 

SFTS spreads most commonly through tick bites but can also be transmitted through contact with the blood of infected people or animals. After an incubation period of six to 14 days, patients may develop symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea and impaired consciousness.

 

SFTS is estimated to have a fatality rate of 10 to 30 percent. While there is no vaccine for the infection, an antiviral drug has been approved in Japan.

 

The country confirmed its first SFTS case in 2013 in a woman in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Annual case numbers generally remained below 100 until 2021 but have exceeded that level every year since. More SFTS cases have been reported in western Japan than eastern parts of the country.