A case of severe meningitis caused by SFTSV diagnosed with mNGS assistance

Unexplained fever or headache is a common and complex symptom in clinical practice, posing significant challenges to precise diagnosis. Cases involving central nervous system (CNS) complications are particularly complex, requiring high vigilance and accurate diagnostic tools. This study retrospectively analyzed the diagnosis and treatment process of a 63-year-old male patient who was hospitalized due to persistent headache, dizziness, and unexplained fever. Considering the patient's history of tick bites and laboratory findings of thrombocytopenia and leukopenia, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) was suspected. To determine the etiology, pathogen detection was performed using cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) technology. Based on the patient's epidemiological features such as a history of tick bites, clinical presentation, and laboratory findings (thrombocytopenia and leukopenia), metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of the patient's cerebrospinal fluid suggested infection with a novel Bunya virus. Treatment with ribavirin led to improvement in the patient's condition.