Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever: A Looming Health Threat Amid Climate Change
Description
Description: A viral threat transmitted by ticks & animals, aggravated by climate change. Learn its symptoms & challenges for prevention in this blog.
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
• Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever usually transmitted by ticks.
• It can also be contracted through contact with viraemic animal tissues (animal tissue where the virus has entered the bloodstream) during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.
• The virus is present in the tick family of insects.
• According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), animals such as cattle, goats, sheep and hares “serve as amplifying hosts for the virus.
• Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected ticks or animal blood. CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids”, such as sweat and saliva.
• The ticks can also be hosted by migratory birds, thus carrying the virus over long distances.
CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can lead to epidemics, has a high case fatality ratio (10–40%), potentially results in hospital and health facility outbreaks, and is difficult to prevent and treat.
Symptoms and medication
CCHF symptoms include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light.
here may be nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and sore throat early on, followed by sharp mood swings and confusion.
There is no vaccine for the virus in either humans or animals, and treatment generally consists of managing symptoms. According to the WHO, “the antiviral drug ribavirin has been used to treat CCHF infection with apparent benefit
Spreading due to climate change
Due to heatwave and wildfires in Europe, the rising temperatures have also raised fears of spread of viruses generally not found in colder climates.
Climate Change contributes to the spread of diseases in multiple ways, including warmer temperatures expanding the habitat of ticks and other insects and giving them more time to reproduce; the habitat offered by water undergoing changes; and animals moving to newer areas and people coming into contact with them.
