First discovery of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus in ticks attached to cattle in Occitania

2023-10-28 10:34:00

Potentially fatal for humans, the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus was discovered for the first time in ticks attached to cattle in Occitania, reports Midi Libre on Friday October 27.

A first in France. The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHF) was detected for the first time in France on ticks attached to cattle in the Pyrénées-Orientales, reports Free Midday Friday October 27 according to information from Public Health France. This discovery was made on October 6 by the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD).

“These first analyzes were confirmed by the CNR of the Pasteur Institute, thus establishing for the first time the presence of the virus in France. The virus is generally transmitted by the bite of an infected adult Hyalomma tick. Transmission to human being is also possible through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal or human being”reports Public Health France.

A dozen cases in Spain

Currently, no human case of FHCC has been detected in France but the disease is progressing since 2016, a dozen cases have been reported in Spain. “Infection with the CCHF virus most often remains asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic”, specifies CIRAD. But in some cases, symptoms can occur “suddenly”, causing hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate between 5% and 30%.

Symptoms include: fever, muscle pain, dizziness, neck stiffness and pain, back pain, headache, digestive problems, headache, eye sensitivity to light and photophobia. It should be noted that these ticks are easily recognizable with their size of approximately 5 mm and therefore they very rarely bite humans.

published on October 28 at 12:34 p.m., Romain Strozza, 6Medias

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