Related: 13 Deaths from Tick Bites Reported in East China

Chinese experts are yet to determine the type of pathogen carried by ticks that have killed a number of local people in some provinces, said Li Dexin, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in Beijing on Friday at a press conference.

In recent years, a number of patients suffering from tick-borne-pathogens were reported in Henan, Hubei, Anhui and Shandong provinces, and most of these patients had fevers and low blood cell counts. Some of the patients died of intestinal complications.

Now, the center has named the disease "fever-thrombocytopenia syndrome," temporarily, but many kinds of pathogens are likely to cause the syndrome, said Li. Ticks could carry 83 viruses and 14 kinds of bacteria, he added.

According to previous reports, as of September 8, Henan reported 557 cases, including 18 deaths.