Staff Reporter
A 74-year-old man in Madrid has been confirmed to have been infected with the deadly Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) viral disease.
The patient went to an emergency room presenting a fever and feeling unwell after having been bitten by a tick some days previously.
A microbiological study confirmed the infection, according to a report in daily 20minutos.
The virus first arrived in Spain back in 2013, thanks to migratory birds, and since it appeared the Health Ministry has found 13 cases of the disease, and registered five deaths.
Most cases have so far been detected in the northwest of the Extremadura region, but they are starting to spread throughout the rest of Spain.
The most common way that people get infected is via bites from ticks that have in turn bitten infected animals.
It is the Hyalomma genus of ticks, which are common in Asia, Europe and North Africa, that usually transmits the virus.
Symptoms of the disease can include fever, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding into the skin, and complications can include liver failure.
