Chinese scientists have discovered a previously unknown virus carried by ticks which led to 36 deaths in six provinces by last September, according to the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published Thursday.
The virus SFTSV (severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus) was recently discovered by scientists at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
People with the virus can experience fever and multiple organ failure.
The presence of the virus was confirmed in 171 patients from six provinces in China. It resulted in 36 deaths by September 2010.
