A Japanese news conference which aimed to raise awareness of a tick-borne disease ended in disaster when a live tick disappeared. The governor of Miyazaki prefectural was left red-faced when he was forced to apologise on Tuesday, a day after the debacle.

 

Monday's conference had been organised by the Miyazaki prefectural government to raise awareness about the tick-borne disease Thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), after a number of residents in the district had fallen ill with it.

One live and one dead tick were brought into the press conference so the media could take photographs and help raise awareness about Thrombocytopenia syndrome

 

Thrombocytopenia syndrome: The facts 

Thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a relatively new infectious disease which has so far been found in China, Korea and Japan.

 

The main symptoms include:

Fever

Thrombocytopenia - where you don't have enough platelets (cells in your blood that stick together to help it clot)

Gastrointestinal symptoms  - this can include acid reflux, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain

Leukocytopenia - a decrease in the number of white blood cells which fight off infection in the body

The virus is said to have high fatality rates of up to 30% and people aged over 50 are more at risk.

 

According to Japanese media the virus was first discovered in China in 2009 but SFTS contracted from a tick was not reported in the country until 2013. 

 

It caused eight deaths in the summer of 2012. The symptoms for SFTS usually develop within two weeks of the initial infection.  SFTS can be deadly, with symptoms including fever, a reduction in the cells that clot blood to prevent people from bleeding out, nausea and vomiting, and a decline in white blood cells which help fight off infection in the body.

 

Despite prefectural government officials carrying out a desperate search for the insect - even roping in reporters to help them - the little critter could not be found. 

 

The room was later sprayed with insecticide, according to officials.   

 

'We should have been more careful about safety management as the prefecture is in a position to alert its people,' said Miyazaki governor Shunji Kono.

 

A live tick and a dead one had been brought along to the event for the press to photograph but when an official attempted to pick up the live one with tweezers it disappeared. Last month, the Ehime prefectural government announced the death of a farmer in his 60s from the city of Shikokuchuo after he fell ill with spotted fever as a result of a tick bite. 

 

SFTS is a relatively new infectious disease which has so far been found in China, Korea and Japan.

 

Symptoms usually develop within two weeks of the initial infection. According to Japanese media, the first reported case of SFTS contracted from a tick bite was in 2013, but the syndrome was first discovered in China in 2009. The virus is said to have high fatality rates of up to 30 per cent and people aged over 50 are more at risk. 

 

Japan's health ministry has previously issued a warning for people in contact with animals in poor physical condition to be careful. 

By Charlie Faulkner For Mailonline