England Reports Case Of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

A lady in England has been recognized with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever in response to a new report from the U.Okay. Well being Safety Company. The viral illness is unfold by ticks and livestock animals in areas of the world the place it’s thought of endemic. These embody areas in Africa, the Center East, Asia and the Balkans and the case within the U.Okay. was present in a girl who had lately returned from central Asia. It’s not present in ticks within the U.Okay.

The symptoms of the illness can embody fever, muscle ache, dizziness, sensitivity to gentle, stomach ache and vomiting, in addition to temper swings, aggression and confusion in additional superior illness. The illness is severe, with a fatality rate of up to 40% in contaminated people, however will not be simply transmitted between folks. Though in Spain in 2016, a person died of the illness, infecting a nurse caring from him within the course of.

Dr. Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at The U.Okay. Well being Safety company (UKHSA) stated in a press release that “the general threat to the general public could be very low,” including that anybody who had shut contact with the contaminated particular person was being contacted.

“UKHSA and the NHS have effectively established and sturdy an infection management procedures for coping with circumstances of imported infectious illness and these might be strictly adopted” added Hopkins.

The affected person is being handled on the Royal Free Hospital in Central London, which is a specialist heart for treating sufferers with harmful viral infections. There isn’t any vaccine for the virus in both people or animals and the standard treatment is principally supportive care, guaranteeing management of fluid steadiness, electrolytes and oxygen in addition to therapy of any secondary infections that will happen. There may be an antiviral drug which has reportedly proven some profit in sufferers, however the evidence in assist of it’s controversial.