A case of fatal Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was identified in a woman in England who had recently returned from Central Asia.
At the Cambridge University Hospital, an unidentified woman was diagnosed with a tick-borne disease and was transferred to a specialist unit in London.
She becomes only the third confirmed UK case of CHF, which can cause mood swings, confusion and eye bleeding.
Public health officials insist the risk to public health is low as the disease is usually transmitted by tick bites, which are not found in the UK, and person-to-person transmission is rare.
It is unclear where the woman traveled to in Asia, but two previous confirmed cases were brought to the UK from Afghanistan and Bulgaria in 2012 and 2014.
In these cases, no further transmission of the disease, which is fatal for 40 percent of patients, was found.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the risk to the public is “very low”.
The patient was diagnosed at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is receiving specialist care at the Royal Free Hospital in London (pictured).
The World Health Organization map shows the annual distribution of CCHF cases worldwide. Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan and parts of Russia report more than 50 cases per year. Meanwhile, while in parts of Europe (Bulgaria and Albania), Africa (South Africa, Sudan and Mauritania) and Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman, China and Kazakhstan), five to 49 cases are detected each year.
Public health officials said the risk to public health is low as the disease is usually spread by tick bites, which are not found in the UK, and is difficult to spread from person to person. In the photo: a stock image of a tick
WHAT IS CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER (CCHF)?
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease.
It causes symptoms such as high fever, muscle pain, dizziness, abnormal sensitivity to light, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
In the future, there may be sudden mood swings, the patient becomes distracted and aggressive.
The CCHF virus is widespread and found among ticks in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Southwestern Europe.
In Europe, cases of human infection have been reported in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
In June 2008, the first case was diagnosed in Greece, and Spain reported the first local case in August 2016.
Two cases have previously been confirmed in the UK – one in 2012 and one in 2014 – that were imported from Afghanistan and Bulgaria.
A third case was identified in March 2022 in a woman who had recently traveled to Central Asia.
Source: ECDC.
The latest patient was diagnosed at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is receiving specialized care at the Royal Free Hospital in London, which has a specialist unit for tropical diseases.
Dr. Hopkins said: “It is important to know that Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is usually spread by tick bites in countries where the disease is endemic, it does not spread easily between people, and the overall risk to the population is very low.
“We are working with NHS EI to contact people who have had close contact with the case before their infection is confirmed, to assess them as needed and provide advice.
“The UKHSA and NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures in place to deal with cases of imported infectious diseases and these will be strictly enforced.”
Humans can also become infected through contact with the blood or tissues of infected livestock.
It can spread between people through bodily fluids or among hospital patients if medical equipment is not properly sterilized.
WHO warns that outbreaks of CCHP pose a “threat to public health services” and “potentially lead to outbreaks in hospitals and healthcare facilities.”
Symptoms of the virus appear suddenly and include fever, muscle pain, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, back pain, headache, eye pain, and sensitivity to light.
People may also suffer early on from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and sore throat, followed by mood swings and confusion.
Other signs include a rash in the mouth and throat, rapid heart rate, and swollen lymph nodes.
Dr Sir Michael Jacobs, Infectious Diseases Consultant at Royal Free London, said: “Royal Free Hospital is a specialist center for the treatment of patients with viral infections such as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
“Our high-level isolation facility is managed by a team of experienced physicians, nurses, internists and laboratory staff and is designed to ensure that patients with these infections are treated safely.”
Hyalomma ticks are the main vector of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. This type of tick has not been established in the UK and the virus has never been found in the UK.
Officials are advising anyone who visits areas where ticks have been found, including Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, to use tick repellents and carefully check their clothing and skin for insects.
The disease was first discovered in the Crimea in 1944 and was named Crimean hemorrhagic fever.
But in 1969, doctors realized that the pathogen that caused this disease was responsible for the disease identified in the Congo in 1956.
This led to the virus being named Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, which swept through both regions.