BACKGROUND Heightened surveillance of acute febrile illness in China since 2009 has led to the identification of a severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) with an unknown cause. Infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum has been suggested as a cause, but the pathogen has not been detected in most patients on laboratory testing. METHODS We obtained blood samples from patients with the case definition of SFTS in six provinces in China. The blood samples were used to isolate the causal pathogen by inoculation of cell culture and for detection of viral RNA on polymerase-chain-reaction assay. The pathogen was characterized on electron microscopy and nucleic acid sequencing. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, indirect immunofluorescence assay, and neutralization testing to analyze the level of virus-specific antibody in patients’ serum samples. RESULTS We isolated a novel virus, designated SFTS bunyavirus, from patients who presented with fever, thrombocytopenia, leukocytopenia, and multiorgan dysfunction. RNA sequence analysis revealed that the virus was a newly identified member of the genus phlebovirus in the Bunyaviridae family. Electron-microscopical examination revealed virions with the morphologic characteristics of a bunyavirus. The presence of the virus was confirmed in 171 patients with SFTS from six provinces by detection of viral RNA, specific antibodies to the virus in blood, or both. Serologic assays showed a virus-specific immune response in all 35 pairs of serum samples collected from patients during the acute and convalescent phases of the illness. CONCLUSIONS A novel phlebovirus was identified in patients with a life-threatening illness associated with fever and thrombocytopenia in China. (Funded by the China Mega-Project for Infectious Diseases and others.)

ObjectiveThe net energy requirement for the maintenance (NEm) of broilers was determined using regression models by the indirect calorimetry method (ICM) or the comparative slaughter method (CSM).MethodsA 2×4 factorial arrangement of treatments including the evaluation method (ICM or CSM) and feed intake (25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of ad libitum recommended) was employed in this experiment. In the ICM, 96 male Arbor Acres (AA) birds aged d 15 were used with 4 birds per replicate and 6 replicates in each treatment. In the CSM, 116 male AA birds aged d 15 were used. Among these 116 birds, 20 were selected as for initial data and 96 were assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicate cages and 4 birds each. The linear regression between retained energy (RE) and metabolizable energy intake (MEI) or the logarithmic regression between heat production (HP) and MEI were used to calculate the metabolizable or net energy requirement for maintenance (MEm) or NEm, respectively.ResultsThe evaluation method did not detect any differences in the metabolizable energy (ME), net energy (NE), and NE:ME of diet, and in the MEI, HP, and RE of broilers. The MEI, HP, and RE of broilers decreased (p<0.01) as the feed intake decreased. No evaluation method× feed intake interaction was observed on these parameters. The MEm and NEm estimated from the linear relationship were 594 and 386 kJ/kg of body weight (BW)0.75/d in the ICM, and 618 and 404 kJ/kg of BW0.75/d in the CSM, respectively. The MEm and NEm estimated by logarithmic regression were 607 and 448 kJ/kg of BW0.75/d in the ICM, and were 619 and 462 kJ/kg of BW0.75/d in the CSM, respectively.ConclusionThe NEm values obtained in this study provide references for estimating the NE values of broiler diets.

The mountain range of western Sichuan Province of China runs roughly north to south defining the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where high-resolution climate records are essential for understanding regional climatic phenomena. Unfortunately, instrumental records in this region are too short in duration to confidently gauge the long-term variability of climate change. This paper presented a temperature reconstruction for the western Sichuan Province based on a tree ring width chronology developed from a tree line site (4,150 m) of the Faxon fir (Abies faxoniana) at the Miyaluo Natural Reserve. This reconstruction, spanning the years from 1824 to 2009, could account for 46.7 % of the actual variance of annual mean temperature during the calibration period from 1950 to 2002. The reconstruction could be essentially divided into two distinct subperiods: a relatively cold and stable period in the late nineteenth century and a relatively warm and unstable period in the twentieth century. Years 2001 and 1911 were the warmest (6.32°C) and coldest (4.87°C) years in the reconstruction, respectively, while 1960s (5.77°C) and 1980s (5.08°C) were the warmest and coldest ten consecutive years within the past 186 years. Close coupling observed with other temperature proxies (tree rings, ice cores, and glaciers) from surrounding areas emphasized the high degree of confidence in our reconstruction. nologies to be developed (Körner and Paulsen 2004).Consequently, this region should have great potential for dendroclimatological studies. Unfortunately, tree ring studies in western Sichuan have received surprising little attention by