#Environment ■ Climate change aiding spread of deadly virus i | UPSC Environment Ecology Agriculture Notes
#Environment
■ Climate change aiding spread of deadly virus in Europe: What is CCHF-
Europe is facing heatwaves and wildfires and the rising temperatures have also raised fears of spread of viruses generally not found in colder climates.
Recently, Alert has been sounded about the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
An infection spread by ticks that has a high fatality rate, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
● What is CCHF?
According to the WHO, “Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever usually transmitted by ticks.
It can also be contracted through contact with viraemic animal tissues during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.
CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can lead to epidemics, has a high case fatality ratio (10–40%), potentially results in hospital and health facility outbreaks, and is difficult to prevent and treat.
CCHF is endemic to Africa, the Balkan countries, Middle East, and parts of Asia. The first fatality from the disease in Europe was in Spain, in 2016.
In India, one person succumbed to CCHF last month in Gujarat, the state that reports the majority of the country’s cases of this disease.
● Source and transmission of CCHF:
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), animals such as cattle, goats, sheep and hares “serve as amplifying hosts for the virus.
Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected ticks or animal blood.
CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids”, such as sweat and saliva.
The ticks can also be hosted by migratory birds, thus carrying the virus over long distances.
● What are the symptoms, cure of CCHF?
CCHF symptoms include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light, according to the WHO.
“There may be nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and sore throat early on, followed by sharp mood swings and confusion.
After 2–4 days the agitation may be replaced by sleepiness, depression and lassitude,” the WHO’s website says.
There is no vaccine for the virus in either humans or animals, and treatment generally consists of managing symptoms.
According to the WHO, “the antiviral drug ribavirin has been used to treat CCHF infection with apparent benefit.”
● Climate change and spread of diseases:
As temperature patterns are disrupted, pathogens are thriving in geographies that traditionally had a climate hostile to them.
“The ticks are moving up through Europe due to climate change, with longer and drier summers.”
The CDC says climate change contributes to the spread of diseases in multiple ways, including
warmer temperatures expanding the habitat of ticks and other insects and
giving them more time to reproduce
the habitat offered by water undergoing changes; and
animals moving to newer areas and people coming into contact with them.
SOURCE - INDIAN EXPRESS
