Patient in Spain’s Salamanca Hospital in Critical Condition After Tick Bite Infection

A middle-aged man from Salamanca has been hospitalised with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and infection having been bitten by a tick.

HE is still very sick and in a critical condition at the Salamanca Clinic Hospital. Nine other people who have had contact with him are also under observation.

The Minister of Health of Castille and Leon, Veronica Casado, has explained today during a press conference that the patient was bitten at the end of May in a pine forest in the province of Salamanca. However, the infection wasn’t confirmed until Wednesday this week. The patient is reported to be suffering from very high temperatures and strong muscle pains. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease and common symptoms include fever, muscle pains, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding.

With the Coronavirus pandemic still around, many people may think that this is the next epidemic, but that’s not the case, assure health experts. In fact, this is just the fifth CCHF case in Spain since 2016, with the first case ever registered back in 2010 in Extramadura. However, Casado warns that if you are in an area like a pine forest where ticks are present, it’s best to wear a shirt with sleeves, and trousers instead of shorts, as well as insect repellent to prevent any bites.