2023-07-23 04:00:00
Rising temperatures make the European continent a perfect habitat for ticks that transmit FHCC. Helder Lopes Meteored Portugal 23.07.2023 – 06:00 a.m. 5 min
Climate change is leading to significant changes in weather patterns that directly affect the habitats of several species. In this context, ticks carrying the FHCC virus are migrating to more temperate areas, including Europe.
A study led by Ali Mirazimi, a virologist at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, has revealed that the ticks migrate to the European continent due to the longer and drier summers.
FHCC: The silent bleeding – what are the transmission routes?
FHCC, also known as CCHF, is a highly dangerous disease due to its potential to causing outbreaks and pandemics is on the WHO list of priority pathogens. The main symptoms include headache, high fever, joint pain, abdominal pain and vomiting. Jaundice and mood swings can also occur. The disease is called “hemorrhagic” because it causes serious consequences for patients, such as: B. Bruising, nosebleeds and skin bleeding.
The virus is spread by ticks from the Ixodidae family, such as B. Hyalomma ticks, which can transmit the disease to humans and other animals through bites and sucking. In addition, the virus can also be transmitted through infected body fluids, such as As blood, are transferred.
The Global Spread of FHCC: From Tropical Countries to the Emerging Threat in Europe
With rising temperatures, these disease vectors penetrate previously inaccessible regions, allowing the virus to spread. Cases of the disease have already been reported in Spain, and other European countries are likely to face the same problem soon.
However, it should be noted that despite concerns regarding our geographic scope, FHCC is already in use in several countries in Africa, of the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. So far, these have generally been countries with warmer climates than most of western, central and northern Europe.
How to prevent a tick bite and how to react to it!
The list of countries where the disease is endemic includes the following African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Several Middle Eastern countries are also on the list: Iran, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Interestingly, the disease is also in different parts Endemic to China, India, Pakistan and Russia and to the following Central Asian countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Then there are Eastern European countries like Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The therapeutic challenge and the urgent call for climate action
Although there is no specific treatment for FHCC, the antiviral drug ribavirin has been used as a therapeutic option. However, the effectiveness of the drug is still controversial. Medical care for patients includes maintaining good hydration, monitoring and correcting electrolytes, administering oxygen, and blood transfusions if necessary. Precautions are also required to avoid possible secondary bacterial infections.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a zoonotic disease transmitted by ticks with a high mortality rate in humans.
Were closely following an outbreak in #Iraq where veterinary authorities are investigating CCHF in ticks and livestock. pic.twitter.com/J4QXPjC3Or
— World Organisation for Animal Health (@WOAH) May 26, 2022
The accelerated spread of HFCS in Europe is a wake-up call for urgent action on climate change. Political and economic leaders are called upon to take effective measures to curb environmental pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global temperature rise and disease spread pose significant public health threats. Unless action is taken to address these issues, European countries will be increasingly at risk of outbreaks and even a possible pandemic of the FHCC virus.
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