However, unexpectedly, we also noticed that the overall immunofluorescence signals of STAT1 in SFTSV-infected cells appeared to be weaker compared to those in the uninfected cells (Figures 6A–C) or NSs transient expression cells (Figures 5A,B), indicating that SFTSV infection may be able to cause a down-regulation of STAT1 abundance which cannot be achieved by NSs expression alone. This evidence concerns the gene STAT1 and infection.