Yzabelle Bostyn
A DEADLY tick-borne virus has been detected on the French-Spanish border.
The illness is reported to kill up to four in 10 people who catch it and the ticks which carry it have been detected in France for the first time.
Known as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), the virus is carried by ticks and is closely related to Ebola.
Commonly seen in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans, the illness is rarely spotted in Europe, with occasional appearances in southern Europe, including Spain.
However the effects of climate change are now pushing the disease further north, with more occurrences in Spain, France and even Britain.
The disease was detected on cattle in the Pyrenees when live ticks were found harbouring the illness.
Symptoms, which appear suddenly, include achy muscles, abdominal pain, vomiting and a sore throat.
Broken capillaries can also trigger bleeding from the eyes, nose or skin.
It comes after the World Health Organisation listed the virus one of its nine priority diseases this year due to its potential harm.
Although the illness is mostly spread to humans through tick bites, it can also be transferred through bodily fluids.
Symptoms, which appear suddenly, include achy muscles, abdominal pain, vomiting and a sore throat.
Broken capillaries can also trigger bleeding from the eyes, nose or skin.
Other symptoms include dizziness, sickness, back pain, headaches, sore eyes, sensitivity to light and fever.
There is currently no cure or vaccine, doctors simply have to keep the patient alive long enough so the body can naturally fight the disease.
According to the World Health Organisation, the virus has killed between 10-40% of those infected.
Health officials have warned people travelling to France to exercise caution against tick bites, especially if they are hiking, camping or making contact with animals.
The tick which most commonly carry the disease is the Hyalomma marginatum tick, which is 5mm long, has coloured legs and white looking wings.
The illness has been detected in France before but only when infected people entered the country.
Since 2013, there have been 12 confirmed cases in Spain, including four deaths.
As of August 2022, the most recent case was detected in Leon in July of that year.
Ticks carrying the virus were first detected in the country in 2010.
This year, the EU disease watchdog has reported two cases of the disease in North Macedonia, with one that proved fatal.
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