No one wants the widespread of another virus as the world is still battling the coronavirus, and a new deadly tick-borne virus spreading fast in China, has set the alarm bells ringing.
12 months ago, just a few people – if no one – could imagine that the globe would be facing a pandemic of this scale.
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 700,000 people globally, with over 19 million cases confirmed.
China, where the coronavirus was detected last December, is now facing a new health threat from another virus, that is tick-borne.
The virus causes a disease called “Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS).
According to a report by Indian Express, the Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) has already killed seven people and infected at least 60.
Many of the cases reported were concentrated in East China’s Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, and while more than 37 people were diagnosed with SFTS in Jiangsu in the early months of 2020, 23 were later found to be infected in Anhui.
While the disease is transferred to humans through tick bites, Chinese virologists have warned that human-to-human transmission of the virus cannot be ruled out.
The current case fatality rate rests between approximately 16 and 30 per cent, according to the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention.
Due to the rate at which it spreads and its high fatality rate, SFTS has been listed among the top 10 priority diseases blue print by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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