Woman in UK diagnosed with new Ebola-like disease that has 40% death rate

A woman in the UK has been diagnosed with a tick-borne viral disease that has a 40% death rate.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is a viral disease usually transmitted by ticks and livestock animals.

The woman, who had recently travelled to Central Asia, was diagnosed at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is receiving specialist care at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, said the virus “does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the public is very low”.

She said the agency was working to contact people who have been in close contact with the woman to assess them and provide advice.

According to the World Health Organisation, if patients die it is usually in the second week of infection.

In patients who recover, improvement generally begins on the ninth or 10th day after the onset of illness.

Dr Hopkins added: “UKHSA and the NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be strictly followed.”