The type of haemorrhagic fever characteristic of Africa and Asia has been spreading in southern Europe for some time. Swedish scientists have noticed that the cause may be the visits of migratory birds previously bitten by ticks, informs the American journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever is a deadly viral disease that initially produces flu-like symptoms, and as it develops, multiple bruises and hemorrhages arise as a result of an increase in the permeability of the capillary walls.
Infection with the haemorrhagic fever virus can occur as a result of tick bites or blood-borne infections – from infected people or animals.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists from Uppsala University in cooperation with the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control examined around 15. birds coming to Italy and Greece from Africa. Also 747 accompanying ticks were analyzed. One of the 30 species tested was found to be a carrier of the virus-carrying arachnids. It was the red-headed shrike, also known as the red-headed shrike, which winters in southern Africa.
The Hyalomm ticks responsible for the spread of the virus do not exist in Northern Europe, as they prefer much warmer temperatures. However, the boundaries of the occurrence of both ticks and disease may shift north as the climate warms, the researchers write (PAP).
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