A MAN has died after catching one of the world's deadliest diseases in Portugal. It is the first time the lethal haemorrhagic fever with “pandemic potential” has been spotted in a European country. 4 Symptoms of CCHF include bleeding from the eyes and fever Credit: Getty 4 The virus is usually carried by ticks and passed to humans through bites Earlier this month, local health officials announced an 80-year-old who had been doing outdoor farm work had died from Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever ( CCHF ), which is mostly spread through infected ticks .
The man had been admitted to the Hospital de Bragançato on July 11 after he developed "nonspecific symptoms", the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health (GDH), said in a statement. After he died samples were taken which revealed he was carrying CCHF, which has a fatality rate as high as 40 per cent. CCHF is a tick-borne virus, endemic in much of Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia – with yearly outbreaks common in countries including Turkey and Pakistan .
Read more on CCHF VIRAL THREAT Woman diagnosed with deadly Ebola-like virus in the UK, health chiefs say LETHAL THREAT Teen catches world's 'deadliest bug' that leaves people bleeding from eyes The pathogen can jump to humans through either a tick bite or via contact with an animal that is infected. The virus is considered a “threat to public health” by the World Health Organization (WHO) as, once in people, it can spread through close contact with bodily.