7 Fatalities Recorded So Far As Tick Borne Virus Spreads In China
Months after COVID-19 pandemic took off from China, another new virus is threatening the Chinese population.
This is coming months after the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan in late 2019.
The Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) virus is transmitted via tick bites.
The Tick virus has caused seven deaths in the country thus far.
SFTS is a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by a “phlebovirus”, which is a species that falls under the bunyaviruses.
It is transmitted via the Haemaphysalis longicornis, an Asian tick commonly found in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.
While the tick is the main vector of the virus, it may also be spread from person to person through blood, wounds or mucous.
These ticks feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, and infections tend to increase in the summertime.
Symptoms of FSTS include fever, thrombocytopenia, leukocytopenia, gastrointestinal symptoms, and various other symptoms including muscular symptoms, neurological abnormalities, and coagulopathy.