A New Virus: The ALTNV nairovirus

by Prof. Herve Fleury, MD-PhD

University of Bordeaux, France & Ventum Biotech, Massachusetts

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) linked to Bandie nairovirus (BNV) was already known; it is a tick-borne virus that is rampant in Asia with a mortality ranging from 10 to 30%.

A Chinese team (Zhang et al. NEJM Sep 2, 2026) has just highlighted a new virus from the same family isolated from patients with SFTS without BNV positivity. This virus, named ALTNV (Asian longhorned tick nairovirus), was isolated in cell culture and its genomic RNA was sequenced. 3163 patients with fever after exposure to a tick bite were investigated and 10.4% were found to be carriers of this new virus; the associated clinical signs were influenza-like illness, gastrointestinal disorders, thrombocytopenia, and increased transaminases. Viral RNA was detected in 1.29% of more than 47,000 ticks in 47 Chinese provinces, with a prevalence of the Haemaphysalis longicornis tick.

BNV/ALTNV co-infection aggravates the pathology and is not uncommon since both viruses circulate in ticks in the same regions of China.