Man Dies After Being Bitten By Tick In Spain

Story By: Ana LacasaSub-EditorAlex Cope, Agency: Real Press

A man has died after being bitten by a tick in Spain.

The man, whose name and nationality was not disclosed but who was aged 69, was hospitalised at the Universitario Virgen del Castanar Hospital in the town of Bejar in the province of Salamanca in the northern Spanish region of Castile and Leon.

After the man’s condition worsened, samples were checked by the National Centre for Microbiology in Majadahonda in the Community of Madrid where they diagnosed Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family.

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The patient died on 11th August a day after being admitted to the hospital’s ICU.

According to the regional health department, the man’s family noticed a dark patch on one of his legs and said that he had been bitten by a tick a week before he was hospitalised.

After the health authorities diagnosed CCHF, they instructed the patient’s close contacts to monitor their temperature and inform them if they suffer a turn for the worse.

In a press release, the health authorities also recommended that people used clothing and footwear appropriate for walking in fields and to use insect repellents on themselves and any pets.

If someone notices a tick on themselves or a loved one, they should have it removed by a health expert as soon as possible.

Symptoms of CCHF may include fever, muscle pains, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding into the skin. Onset of symptoms is less than two weeks after exposure and complications may include liver failure.

In those who survive, recovery generally happens around two weeks after onset. The risk of death among those affected is between 10 and 40 percent.

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