US tourists warned after woman, 27, dies from eye bleeding fever identified as ‘priority disease’ by WHO
US tourists traveling to Europe have been warned to take care as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever blights parts of the continent
US travelers to Europe have been asked to be vigilant after a woman died from an eye-bleeding an-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The 27-year-old holidaymaker contracted the disease while in North Macedonia, and it is normally spread by ticks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that CCHF kills up to 40 percent of those who have been infected, and it is suspected that the woman contracted the disease on July 19 in the Štip area of the European country. She was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms, and died on July 27, according to The Mirror.
Symptoms are said to include sickness, dizziness, light sensitivity, muscle aches and fever. Often, the disease can turn into internal bleeding and organ failure.
The disease was identified in Crimea in 1944 and is now present in some Asian nations, the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
Experts believe it could be spreading outside its usual territories and getting closer to the UK and Ireland as a result of climate change. Seven cases have been reported in Spain, including three deaths, since 2016.
CCHF has been pinpointed as one of nine “priority diseases” by the WHO that pose a threat to public health.
CCHF symptoms.
Vomiting, stomach ache, headaches, high fever – as well as back and joint pain – are among the indicators that US tourists to affected areas should be aware of. Secondary symptoms include red eyes, a red throat, and red spots on the palate.
In severe cases, WHO warns, jaundice, mood swings and sensory perception are encountered. As the illness progresses, large areas of severe bruising, severe nosebleeds, and uncontrolled bleeding at injection sites can be seen, beginning on about the fourth day of illness and lasting for about two weeks.
In documented outbreaks of CCHF, fatality rates in hospitalized patients ranged from nine percent to as high as 50 percent. The long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied well enough in survivors to determine whether or not specific complications exist. However, recovery is slow.
How does CCHF spread?
According to the WHO, human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from “close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons”.
One big concern is there is currently no vaccine available for people infected by the disease. CCHF is transmitted to people from either bites from ticks or through contact with infected animal blood.
Reported deaths
Iraq was reportedly in a major battle with the disease last year, with 212 incidents recorded between January 1 and May 22. Of those, 169 were reported between April and May alone. Agence France-Presse added in May that almost 100 additional cases – and 13 deaths – were so far in 2023 attributed to the toll in Iraq.
