On the WHO’s list of “priority” diseases is this virus. WHO estimates that up to 40% of CCHF patients will die. According to the article, the virus is challenging to prevent or treat and is transferred via ticks or animal tissue.
A new warning about a ‘deadly’ novel virus that kills almost every second patient has appeared amid global attempts to get ready for the next potential pandemic.
Scientists in the UK issued a warning over the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), according to reports from the Mirror, according to news agency IANS on June 15.
Climate change has increased the likelihood that this deadly virus may appear, according to the paper. The virus-caused illness has been discovered in Eastern Europe and is currently in France.
Since such an event was so unexpected until today, there may have already been occurrences in the UK that doctors with the NHS overlooked.
It is challenging to predict which viruses will arrive and when, according to Prof. James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, who told the committee that it was “highly likely” that CCHF would eventually reach the UK.
He was reported in the report as adding that tick-borne diseases like Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever are very likely to propagate in the UK at some point.
Scientists assert that the warmer temperatures in the UK may also contribute to the spread of other diseases like Rift Valley fever, Zika, and break bone fever.
There is a “slow march north” of diseases, said Professor Bryan Charleston, Director of the Pirbright Institute.
Professor Sir Peter Horby, Director of the Oxford University Pandemic Sciences Institute, claimed that climate change was redrawing the geographic distribution of specific illnesses.
Transmission of CCHF Virus
People can contract the CCHF virus by tick bites or encountering contaminated animal tissue or blood during and just after slaughter. The majority of incidents have affected those working in the cattle business, including farmers, butchers, and veterinarians.
Being in close proximity to the blood, saliva, organs, or additional bodily fluids of infected individuals can result in human-to-human transmission. Infections contracted in hospitals can also be brought on by contaminated medical supplies, reused needles, and inadequate sterilization of medical equipment.
Signs And Symptoms of the CCHF Virus
People can contract the CCHF virus by tick bites or encountering contaminated animal tissue or blood during and just after slaughter. The majority of incidents have affected those working in the cattle business, including farmers, butchers, and veterinarians.
Being in close proximity to the blood, saliva, organs, or additional bodily fluids of infected individuals can result in human-to-human transmission. Infections contracted in hospitals can also be brought on by contaminated medical supplies, reused needles, and inadequate sterilization of medical equipment.
Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes), and a petechial rash (rash brought on by bleeding into the skin) on internal mucosal surfaces, such as those in the mouth and throat, as well as on the skin, are further clinical symptoms. The petechiae could progress into ecchymoses, which are bigger rashes, as well as other hemorrhagic manifestations. Hepatitis is typically present, and after five days of illness, critically ill patients may go into rapid kidney decline, abrupt liver failure, or sudden pulmonary failure.
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About 30% of people who develop CCHF die within the first two weeks of their illness. Improvement typically starts in individuals who recover on the ninth or tenth day following the start of their sickness.
Diagnosis of CCHF Virus
A variety of laboratory tests can be used to determine whether someone has the CCHF virus:
Antigen detection, serum neutralization, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, and virus isolation by cell culture are all examples of ELISA tests.
Patients with terminal diseases, as well as those who are sick for the first few days, typically do not produce a significant antibody response, thus viral or RNA identification in blood or tissue samples is used to make the diagnosis in these patients.
Patient sample testing carries a significant biohazard risk and should only be done under strict biological containment guidelines. Samples can be handled in a basic biosafety environment if they have been inactivated, such as with virucides, gamma rays, formaldehyde, heat, etc.
Treatment of CCHF Virus
The basic strategy for treating symptoms of CCHF in patients is general supportive care.
Ribavirin, an antiviral medication, has been successfully used to treat CCHF infection. Formulations administered orally and intravenously both appear to work.
Control and Prevention of CCHF Virus
Since the tick-animal-tick cycle frequently goes unnoticed and the illness in domestic animals frequently goes undetected, it is challenging to prevent or manage CCHF infection in animals and ticks. Tick control with acaricides (chemicals designed to kill ticks) is only a practical option for well-managed livestock production facilities due to the multiplicity and wide distribution of tick vectors.
For instance, actions were made to guarantee that ostriches were tick-free for 14 days in a quarantine station before slaughter as a result of an epidemic at an ostrich abattoir in South Africa (noted above). This reduced the possibility that the animal would contract an illness during its killing and shielded anybody who came into contact with the cattle from getting sick.
Response of WHO to CCHF Virus
In Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, WHO collaborates with partners to assist with CCHF surveillance, diagnostic capability, and outbreak response operations.
In order to lessen the danger of the dissemination of bloodborne and other diseases, WHO has also prepared an aide-memoire on common precautions in healthcare and provides documentation to aid in disease investigation and control.
