A new tick-borne virus that can cause fatal brain infections has been discovered in humans for the first time.
Authorities believe the unidentified man, from China, became infected after being bitten by ticks while visiting a park in Mongolia.
The virus, dubbed Wetlands Lung Virus (WELV), has been tested and shown to have already infected nearly two dozen people.
This potentially deadly infection, transmitted by ticks and farm animals, joins a long list of diseases transmitted by tiny parasites, including Lyme disease and malaria.
It was first detected in a 61-year-old hospitalized patient while receiving treatment in Jinzhou in 2019, but doctors only published the report this month.
Authorities believe the unidentified man, from China, became infected after being bitten by ticks while visiting a park in Mongolia.
Getting rid of a tick from your own skin is essential to avoid the risk of infection or contracting other diseases, including Lyme disease. The NHS has a four-step routine to help detect and remove ticks safely.
Her symptoms, which included fever, headache, vomiting, loss of appetite and infected lymph nodes, appeared five days after the visit and she was prescribed antibiotics.
It was only when the man’s pain failed to provide relief that doctors realised he was suffering from a viral rather than bacterial infection.
Blood tests identified a previously unknown orthonairovirus, a group of related viruses, many of which are transmitted by ticks.
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a better-known orthonairovirus, can be fatal in up to 40 percent of cases.
People become infected after contact with blood or tissue from infected cattle.
It can also spread between humans through bodily fluids or between hospital patients if medical equipment is not properly sterilized.
Following this discovery, researchers collected around 14,600 ticks in northern China.
They found that five different species of ticks could transmit the virus, but the Haemaphysalis concinna tick was the most common.
In a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said: ‘Taken together, these data suggest that a newly discovered orthonairovirus, WELV, is (pathogenic) to humans… and is circulating among humans, ticks, and various animals in northeastern China.
‘Improving surveillance and detection of emerging orthonairoviruses will enable a better understanding of the impact these viruses have on human health.’