Concerns are rising over a deadly virus spreading across the world, with cases found in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
An urgent health warning has been issued due to a tick-borne disease being described as the current biggest threat to public health. Experts are worried that the spread of the disease may be accelerating due to climate change.
A recent outbreak of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was identified in Iraq and Namibia as Pakistani officials also reported two deaths linked to the disease.
Experts are now warning that it is “highly likely” the potentially deadly disease could reach Britain, according to insiders speaking to Parliament’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee last week.
There were other concerns during the hearing. James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, said that CCHF may find its way to the UK “through our ticks at some point”.
The virus, caused by Nairovirus, is spread by ticks, according to the World Health Organisation, with a fatality rate of between 10 and 40 per cent. The disease is typically found at small stages in countries including Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, reports the Express.
The disease may be expanding out with its usual areas, however, with risk of infection in Britain and France due to climate change.
Speaking about the disease, Ali Mirazimi, a virologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in an April interview with Modern Diplomacy that the ticks were “moving up through Europe due to climate change, with longer and drier summers”.
There have already been cases identified in European countries including Spain, Newsweek reported.
Currently, CCHF is noted as one of the nine “priority diseases” in WHO’s ranks. The organisation uses this system to lay bare the biggest risks to public health.
The WHO notes CCHF is among the nine “priority diseases” it ranks, a system that lays bare the biggest public health risks.
Symptoms of the virus include:
- headaches
- high fever
- back and joint pain
- stomach ache
- vomiting
The WHO also warns that in severe cases, jaundice, mood swings and sensory perception may be experienced.
The disease was a huge concern in Iraq last year – 212 incidents recorded between January 1 and May 22. Of those, 169 were reported between April and May alone.
So far, around 100 additional cases and 13 deaths have been recorded in 2023 in Iraq, according to Agence France-Presse.
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