Health experts in France have identified a disease, for the first time, that is believed to kill up to four out of every ten people who become infected with it.
The tick carrying Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was found on the country’s border with Spain.
This disease is endemic in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Balkans, and has been detected sporadically in southern parts of Western Europe such as Spain.
Experts have long warned that climate change will push the disease into northern Europe.
Live ticks collected from livestock in the eastern Pyrénées region have been shown to harbor the disease.
CCHF is spread mainly between humans through tick bites, but people can also become infected through contact with bodily fluids from infected patients.
The disease shares symptoms similar to Ebola initially, including muscle aches, abdominal pain, sore throat and vomiting.
It can also lead to bleeding from the nose or from capillaries in the eyes and skin.
Other symptoms of the virus, which appear suddenly, include fever, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, back pain, headache, sore eyes, and sensitivity to light.
There is no vaccine available, and treatment focuses on keeping the person alive long enough for their body to fight off the infection. (Russia Today)
2023-10-28 11:14:13
#deadly #virus #France.. #death #rate #high #symptoms
