A woman has been diagnosed in the UK with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever following travel to Central Asia, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever is a viral disease usually transmitted by ticks and livestock animals in countries where the disease is endemic.
The woman 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.
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.”
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