WHO monitors tick spread in Europe after 'Bourbon virus' emerges in America - Sarmad

The World Health Organization (WHO) office in Russia announced that the organization is monitoring the spread of ticks across the European continent, following the discovery of cases infected with the tick-borne Bourbon virus in the United States.

The organization noted that the Bourbon virus has so far only been detected in the United States, and there is currently no evidence to suggest it poses a direct threat to public health in other countries.

A source at the WHO office in Russia told the Russian news agency Novosti: “The World Health Organization and its partner epidemiological surveillance networks, including national health authorities and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, continue to monitor tick-borne pathogens in the European region and track any potential changes in tick species distribution patterns that could affect the epidemiological situation in the future.”

It is worth noting that Fox News reported on August 1 that the first case of Bourbon virus infection had been recorded in New York state. The virus is rare and currently has no approved vaccine. Symptoms of infection include fever, weakness, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and skin rash. Medical teams face difficulties in diagnosing the infection due to the absence of specific laboratory tests.

For his part, a virologist and chief researcher at Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology told Novosti that approximately six to seven cases of the virus had been recorded, two of which were fatal. However, he noted that the detection of antibodies to the virus in the blood of some individuals may indicate that the virus is more widespread than official figures suggest.