A highly dangerous disease that spreads through tick bites, traditionally found in the Balkans, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, could soon extend its reach across Europe due to shifting climate patterns causing insects to move more widely on the continent.
According to Euronews, scientists are sounding an alarm about the potential emergence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The World Health Organization (WHO) has included this disease on its list of the top 9 "priority pathogens" with pandemic potential. This compilation encompasses illnesses that are deemed to pose the greatest menace to public health.
Researchers are not referring to a speculative future, but rather to an ongoing situation in Europe. Just last year, a case of this lethal ailment was identified in Spain. In reality, the first instances of CCHF were spotted in 2011. In 2016, a man in Spain succumbed to this disease following a tick bite carrying the virus.
Ali Mirazimi, a virologist from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, highlighted in an interview with Modern Diplomacy in April that ticks carrying the virus are traversing Europe due to the changing climate, which leads to longer and drier summers.
Recently, the virus causing Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever was detected in Iraq and Namibia, causing two fatalities in Pakistan. Last year, an outbreak of CCHF was witnessed in Iraq, with 212 cases reported between January 1 and May 22. This year, nearly 100 cases have already been documented, with 13 resulting in fatalities.
The fever was initially identified in Crimea back in 1944, hence its name. It arises from a virus transmitted by ticks belonging to the Nairovirus genus, part of the Bunyaviridae family. Symptoms encompass high fever, headaches, joint and back pain, abdominal discomfort, and vomiting. The mortality rate varies from 10% to 40%.
According to WHO data, severe cases may also involve symptoms like jaundice, mood swings, and sensory disturbances. Large animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats are particularly susceptible to this virus. Humans can contract it through tick bites or by encountering the blood or tissues of infected animals during or after slaughter.
Hence, most cases of human infection with the CCHF virus are detected in slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians. Following a tick bite, the incubation period for the virus in humans typically lasts from 3 to 9 days. The virus can be transmitted between individuals through contact with blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids of the infected.
Those afflicted generally recover around the ninth or tenth day after infection. In severe cases, death typically occurs during the second week of the illness.
The positive news is that there is an effective treatment in the form of the antiviral drug ribavirin. There are even efforts underway to develop an inactivated vaccine, currently being used on a limited scale in Eastern Europe. However, the downside is that there is currently "no safe and effective vaccine available for human use against CCHF," as stated by the WHO. Nonetheless, there are numerous measures that can be taken to lower the risk of infection and to prevent tick bites.
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