A man was killed in Spain by an ‘Ebola-like’ virus – which has a fatality rate of up to 40% – and does not have a vaccine against it.
The 74-year-old died on Saturday in a hospital near Madrid after being diagnosed with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
It is a disease caused by a tickborne virus, categorised as a ‘priority disease’ on a list by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The victim was admitted to the Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital in the region of Mostoles on July 19 after being bitten by a tick in Toledo, around 100 miles southwest of the Spanish capital.
After confirming he had the rare virus, he was transferred to a high-dependency isolation unit at Madrid’s La Paz University Hospital to minimise the transmission risk.
His condition was initially described as stable but he then deteriorated after reportedly developing all the symptoms of CCHF.
He died on Saturday, becoming the first man in Spain to be killed by the virus since May 2020 when it claimed the life of a 69-year-old man who passed away at a hospital in Salamanca.
The tick-borne disease, similar to that of Ebola, is listed by WHO as being one of nine pathogens deemed most likely to trigger a pandemic.
Most cases have occurred in Bulgaria, where the first known case dates back to the 1950s.
But infections have since been confirmed in the UK, Greece, Spain and Albania.
Initial symptoms of the virus include a fever, muscle aches, abdominal pain, a sore throat and vomiting.
CCHF can also cause mood swings and confusion, as well as sleepiness.
It can also trigger bleeds, usually from the nose or from broken capillaries on the eyes and skin.
Although transmitted through tick bites, it can be spread between humans through bodily fluids including blood or among hospital patients if medical equipment is not properly sterilised.
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