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A hard-bodied tick that transmits Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
CNN
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Man dies EboraI have had a disease called Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Spain.
The 74-year-old man died on Saturday from organ failure in an isolation ward at La Paz Carlos III Hospital in the Spanish capital, Madrid, a hospital spokesman told CNN on Monday.
CCHF causes a severe virus Hemorrhagic fever It is an outbreak similar to Ebola. Early symptoms usually include sudden fever, chills, vomiting and diarrhea, followed by mood swings and confusion.
It can also be accompanied by bleeding such as nosebleeds, burst capillaries in the eyes, bleeding on the skin resulting in a rash, and signs of internal bleeding such as blood in the urine or stool.
It is difficult to prevent and treat, there is no vaccine, and the mortality rate is as high as 40%. who (Who).
According to the WHO, the disease is most commonly transmitted through contact with ticks or infected blood or tissue from livestock, but person-to-person transmission can also occur.
The man went to hospital in Móstoles on July 19 complaining of fever and general malaise after being bitten by a tick in Buenas Bodas, Toledo province, central Spain, a few days earlier.
On July 21, health authorities confirmed that the man was infected with CCHF, and he was transferred to the isolation ward at La Paz Carlos III Hospital the same day, according to a hospital statement issued on July 22.
The statement said he was in stable condition, but he died a week after the announcement.
Death usually occurs within two weeks of onset of symptoms, but those who recover usually see improvement within nine to 10 days, according to the WHO.
According to the WHO, the disease is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asian countries south of the 50th parallel.
Jacob Lourenço Morales, director of the Canary Islands Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health at the University of La Laguna, told CNN that the first case of CCHF in Spain was confirmed in 2016, and since then, one to three cases have been identified each year in central and western Spain.
The virus is transmitted by ticks and cases in Spain tend to be found between April and August each year, Lorenzo Morales said, adding that climate change was allowing ticks to reproduce faster and more frequently throughout the year.
Spain has drawn up a national plan to combat tick-borne diseases, including CCHF, but people need to take action to prevent tick bites, Lorenzo Morales said.
Recommendations include wearing light-colored trousers and long sleeves, tucking trousers into socks and wearing boots or closed shoes, and using tick repellent.
“CCHF is an emerging disease occurring across Western Europe,” he said.
Consuelo Jimenez Pardo, a lecturer in medical parasitology at Madrid’s University of Alcala, told CNN that Spain will “definitely see an increase” in CCHF cases.
He said on Monday that conditions were favourable for the virus in Spain because of the tick-friendly climate and because migratory birds bring the ticks with them as they travel between Europe and Africa, close to Spain.
Jimenez said CCHF is a “widely distributed virus with a high probability of human-to-human transmission.” Through infected blood or bodily fluids, She also stressed that in humans, up to 90% of cases are asymptomatic, with most people only experiencing mild symptoms.
Still, “one case counts as an outbreak,” she added.
Professor Emma Thomson, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, called the cases “alarming”, noting that CCHF has been found in ticks in both Spain and France.
“We expect cases to increase over the next few years,” Thomson told CNN on Monday, “and there is a risk of the virus spreading to other European countries, including the UK.”
