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Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease usually transmitted by ticks and livestock animals in countries where the disease is endemic. The woman was diagnosed at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is receiving specialist care at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, said the virus “does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the public is very low”.
Despite this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that CCHF has a “high fatality rate” of up to 40 percent.
They add that CCHF outbreaks “constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can lead to epidemics”.
CCHF is endemic in all of Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia.
The disease was first described in Crimea in 1944 and given the name Crimean haemorrhagic fever.
In 1969 it was recognised that the pathogen causing Crimean haemorrhagic fever was the same as that responsible for an illness identified in 1956 in the Congo.
Dr Hopkins said the agency was working to contact people who have been in close contact with the woman to assess them and provide advice.
She added: “UKHSA and the NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be strictly followed.”
Symptoms of CCHF may include fever, muscle pains, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding into the skin.
These come less than two weeks following exposure and complications can include liver failure.
In those who survive, recovery generally occurs around two weeks after onset.
The long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied well enough in survivors to determine whether or not specific complications exist.
However, recovery is slow.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best prevention is to avoid contact with ticks.
Agricultural workers and others working with animals should use insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing.
Insect repellants containing DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are the most effective in warding off ticks.
Wearing gloves and other protective clothing is recommended.
Individuals should also avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of livestock or humans who show symptoms of infection.
It is important for healthcare workers to use proper infection control precautions to prevent occupational exposure.
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